Gundam Seed: Humanity's Fate: Consequentialism
by ExArchmagus
Summary: Second of two stories that form the second half of my Gundam Seed: Destiny re-write. The Archangel and Minerva meet in Zagreb to confront a common enemy: The Destroy gundam. This time, however, things go differently. Certain words are not said and there is more bloodshed and destruction at the end of the battle. Pairings: ShinnxStella
1. Let There Be Rambling

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

'Content' = Thought

"Content" = Speech

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Long _ass_ author's note (**READ... ****at your own risk**): Alright, so finally here I am making the long awaited 'Plot B' to _Gundam Seed: Humanity's Fate_. After thinking to myself about how I was going to plan out and write this fic, I am now putting it onto the 'digital paper' that I have on my computer thanks to the program known as _LibreOffice Writer_. So here I am, the author, ExArchmagus, symbolically standing before all of you readers right now, here to tell you something important before you start reading this fanfiction. In an ideal world, you all would read this, and in an even more ideal world (as in _Marxist ideally)_ you all would respond to this in your reviews. I know that wont happen, but for the few that read with detail, for the few that look between the lines, here you go:

(Note: _Question _and Answer) The reason why I'm giving this large author's note is because I want to explain some issues to you guys, some issues that while I haven't been asked about much, I know exist, and I know are several reasons why this fic does not appeal to people as much as other re-writes of the epic failure of a television series, _Gundam Seed Destiny. _**Conformity **is the word I mean to talk about. _Gundam Seed: Humanity's Fate _in both it's 'Light, Plot A form, _Power of ORB_' and 'Dark, Plot B form, _Consequentialism_' does not conform to the interests of most people who want to read a Cosmic Era GSD re-write in my mind because while I do stick to the main plot in some areas, I change it around drastically in others.

_A lot of people want to see the cannon couples stay as they are; they want to see Kira end up with Lacus, Cagalli get engaged __and eventually married __to Athrun, __as symbolized by the ring,__ and have Shinn end up with either Stella or Lunamaria. _

Pairings was one of the areas where _Gundam SEED_ in all it's 'fundamentally inferior to both _Mobile Suit Gundam _and_ Zeta Gundam _yet is still a very good anime series' glory fell flat on it's face, HARD. I am not a shipper of KxL, nor AxC. SxL is contrived but still hands both the previous pairings their buttery, bruised buttocks on a shinning silver platter yet is still inferior to SxS, or my personal favourite, SxC. (Before you state that bogus argument that SxL is a good pairing because Kenichi Suzumura and Maaya Sakamoto are married and that it's a good pairing because of that... so are the voice actors of Roy Mustang and Lust from Full Metal Alchemist and he killed her!) I'm sorry, but when I went through the thought process of making this fic, I knew that I wasn't going to have KxL or AxC, and that they would already be broken up, or be quickly broken up, as we've seen. That isn't going to change either.

_You stick too close to the original plot and don't diverge from it, or you've changed it in all the wrong places and I disagree with your modifications. _

In my honest opinion, _SEED Destiny _had the potential to outdo _Zeta Gundam_, which is considered to be the 'best' gundam series by a lot of people, even given the present situation and circumstances that it had. The plot does not need to be changed a great degree but it does need several things hard-fixed about it **cough** Cagalli's performance **cough** character development and balance **cough** Lacus Clyne **cough** ORB's hypocrisy, Kira's ignorant douchbaggery **cough** If you've read my fics then you've seen what those changes are and have been, and while you may disagree, we're all entitled to our own opinions.

_I want to see Athrun and Kira fight side by side, as friends, whether it be against Shinn and Rey or have Shinn defect to ORB. __After all, best friends forever and they were like brothers!_

Problem One: Having Athrun defect again leads him to do the same bloody broken record nonsense he did in GS. I decided to take his character from 'what am I fighting for?' to a feeling of 'I am fighting for what is absolutely and objectively good, and you are indisputably in the wrong, other side!' and I think I might have done that good... or bad, depending. Problem Two: I want to see Shinn and Kira side by side should they be living by the end of the fic (pay special attention to that).

_Oh, but then why can't we... for instance, have your equivalents of the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, AND Destiny fighting the Legend in the final battle? _

Two (or three, depending on how you look at it) words describe that: "Rape" and "Faceroll". I've heard from some people that they liked the final battles of _Power of ORB_ because there was actual conflict, not the good side rushing in and owning everyone on the bad side in the face so hard it made them seem like sore losers (see GSD50) and everyone took damage pretty much (unless you were Kira but then again you didn't get nitty gritty with the fighting, you 'charged ya lazar!') In my mind the final battle is meant to be somewhat of a _horrific bloodbath _where everyone suffers loses, it's bittersweet, people die, plans backfire no matter which way you look at it and in the end the protagonist's side does pull through, but their body is covered head to toe with cuts, bruises, scratches, dirt and blood, metaphorically speaking. _NOT_ 'Herp Derp Durandal is indisputably in the bad and Lacus-sama is always, no matter what right and we auto-win'. With that in mind Kira, Shinn and Athrun vs. Rey equals one very, very, _very _dead Rey, and in a short time span, giving the ending no conflict. That's why I switched it around to Kira and Shinn vs. Rey and Athrun.

_Then add some original characters on Zaft's, duh! I've seen other rewrites where they do that and it works, so you should do the same!_

Except I don't believe that in order to improve _Gundam SEED Destiny _or even _Gundam SEED _you need to introduce new ocs to the fic, you can greatly improve BOTH series by **making use of what ****you already have given to you**, character wise. I don't need to throw in 'myself' as a character in order to fix the plot, I can just manipulate the order of events and the character development to change things. Besides, once you get to that point where you're basically adding on a complete new crew I think you're getting over your head with the amount of character development that needs to happen. At the end of _Power of ORB _the only real original characters that had a major effect or was Kendan Westenfluss and, as some could argue, Edir Arak. The rest of the cast that actually mattered was already in the series to begin with. In fact as some of you may know that even if I were to ever re-write the original _SEED_, Lacus Clyne would be outright cut from the plot.

_What! You said you would just 'cut' Lacus? How could you? Why would you? _

(Note: Character bash here, with purpose) Because she is easily one of the most piss poorly put together characters in the history of anime that I have watched and a blatant Mary-sue who is responsible for why _SEED _took a dive after it's 30th phase and why _Destiny _sucked with her over expressed significance and influence. Not to mention she's a goddamn hypocrite who can't even recognize her flaws, terrorist who believes she can do no wrong, and is utterly narrow minded. None of those traits are what I want to see in a leader of the good guy's side. I have no love for her, and that's the end of that. People compare her to Relena from _Wing _sometimes... 1) I found Cagalli is more like Relena than Lacus 2) Despite the fact that I am completely apathetic about Wing (don't hate it, but don't love it either, and Freedom would pwn Wing Zero XD) I can actually say I have a shred of respect for Relena, and I can't say the same for Lacus. Somebody told me that the way I was treating Athrun and Lacus was 'needlessly weighing the story down' or something like that... as far as I'm concerned Lacus' _very character _weighs the story and fic down by default. The bottom line is my fics are not for Lacus fans and people should know that by now. That being said her fate in _Consequentialism_ is different from _Power of ORB_, and I think some people will like it and others will hate it, in comparison to what happened in Plot A.

_Alright... alright... okay... okay... still, one question... why did you change the Destiny Plan in the end... make it more extreme, and why didn't Shinn outright reject it like what happened in cannon? I mean, it's genetic slavery, a violation of freedom's and human rights! It's wrong, and it should be shunned! That's the end of that, period!_

(Proceeds to roll eyes) Know right now that when you're talking to me, you're talking to a person who will honestly tell you that Gilbert Durandal was _in the right _at the end of the day in _Destiny _and that Lacus and her mindless drones were _in the wrong_ as far as I'm concerned. That being said, would I want the Destiny Plan instilled in our world? Hell no! In the Cosmic Era world? Yes, given the CONTEXT of the situation and what has happened. I'm not going to make this even longer and go into a huge ass rant about why I side with Durandal but what I will say is this: In Dynasty Warrior Gundam 2 (I think... it's one of the games out there, saw it on a Ytube clip) at the end of Shinn's storyline, while he is _kicking Athrun's ass_ (^.^) he says this "_So fighting for the past is wrong, but __fighting for the status quo is Justice?__" _Last statement, in my opinion, rarely is ever true, and the case of _SEED Destiny _is not one of those exceptions. I changed Durandal's plan somewhat so that_ I _personally would be against it now, and I modified the 'good guy's' idea on what to do in a way that _I_ would personally be giving them the 'moral high ground' in my opinion, as the author. Also if you noticed Shinn's talk with Durandal at the end of _Power of ORB _the reason why he opposed the Destiny Plan was not because of the plan itself was 'evil' (it's not, learn to see beyond your own bias, and the bias of the time period you live in, rather then take the quick and unintelligent way out and reject it on 'principle'), it was because it found itself partially rooted in the nonsense that some ideas are ALWAYS good and right in EVERY TIME and EVERY SITUATION. So, there you go. You're free to disagree with me but at the end of the day, in regards to the ethical, moral, and philosophical messages of the fanfic... Shinn, tell them like it is: _"You don't have the right to decide that! That's __my__ decision!" _(Proceeds to fist bump Shinn)

_You said that SEED, even in it's original form, is inferior to MSG and Zeta... I hear this a lot, but no one ever explains themselves, why?_

1) Yoshiyuki Tomino is just flat out better than Fukuda 2) When you compare two war stories where one portrays it as a battle of ideologies; as a massive gray area, and the other portrays it as a black and white battle between clear-cut evil and knights-in-shining armor good, the former _wins by default, _unless it is really bad. One of the worst arguments I've heard about _SEED_ being inferior to _MSG/Zeta _ was because 'It's depressing'? (Laughs) What? Oh, so you're not happy with it because it performs better in the heart-wrenching emotions category? Because we meet characters, get to know them, relate to them, want to see them happy, and then they **die? **Yeah, this is a war story. It's bittersweet, not white knights in shining armor curbstomping clear-cut villains and losing nothing in the process. Save that idea for your fairy tale, alright?

_Alright, so how should I read this fic then, considering what happened in PoO already?_

Consider this fic and everything in it separate from _Power of ORB_ and don't ask questions like 'well, this happened in Plot A... why isn't it happening here?' because the two fics are utterly different. I'll even go as far as to say that some of the scenes will be directly copied (Durandal's anti-Logos speech for the most part) but you should not be asking me why something like the prison break out didn't happen in Plot B while it did happen in Plot A, alright? **In addition to this, I've thought over what I want to do in Plot B for a while. Please forget anything I've said or promised before about it, including pairings and just read it as is, making guesses based off of what happens ****directly in the fic.**

_Why do you put Mobile Suit specs in the middle of the page instead of in a separate chapter or at the bottom of the page?_

Because I link you the specs when I want you to see the specs, not as a general format. Heck, I'm already going against one of my own personal standards by posting this separate Author's Note paragraph instead of putting it above the chapter, because I'm kind of 'OCD' and like the chapter numbers and actual chapters to match up numerically.

_Why haven't you updated Logos' Last Stand yet? _

I'm not going to lie, when I originally planned that fic out, I knew what was going to happen event wise, in my head, but I only wrote down the notes for the first three phases, and I've been a little lazy about it. That being said the second half of the fic has battles both in space, on Earth somewhat James Bond style, and political rambling to set the stage for Valkyrie somewhat. Don't worry, I haven't forgot about it... I've just gotten a little burnt out from writing my GSD rewrite line from PoO, considering how complex LLS has been for me.

_Lazy? ExArchmagus, you should not be lazy! _

And in the time where you guys have been left chapter less I've managed to finally finish my first two gundams. Yes, go to my profile and click on the deviant art link right now. I've got the ORB-04 Judicator as well as the ZGMF-X20S Legacy uploaded for all to see, and I hope that if you review you'll comment on how they look =D Know right now the next machine to be knocked out is the ORB-02 Veneficus or the ZGMF-X70S Assassin.

With all that in mind I realize that my _Gundam Seed Destiny _re-write does not really appeal to a large amount of people because of the changes I've made, and how they do not **conform **to what most people want in a rewrite. These changes, specifically the choice to rearrange the pairings and to have Athrun not only join but stay with Zaft, were changed that in my opinion, changes for the better. That's just my opinion though. After all, I've actually been told by someone that the reason that GSD was a failure sits on the shoulders of the AsuCaga breakup, a statement which I fundamentally disagree with to every extent. But enough is enough. To those who have still read my works and will read them in the future, I thank you.

Alright, with that in mind, Phase 31B is on the next page. There you go!

P.S. I'm also kind of depressed. Although a lot of people told me that I was too hopeful that the GSD remaster would actually change anything, I still kept just one little spark of hope deep in my heart that it actually would change somethings and fix the plot. Then Phase 8 happened and they even went to the extent of remastering that _outright idiotic _AsuCaga scene for the ravenous fangirls, rather than have Cagalli do the in-character thing and tell Athrun to f-off with his ring or stay with her. **Sighs** I posted a deviant art pic in my gallery that expresses what should have happened. Who's with me, anyone?


	2. Phase 31: Actions of the Minerva

******Note: Before you read this fanfic I highly advise (to put it lightly, you just should read the first thing first) you to read this fanfic first, as it is the first half of GSD that this story is based off of. If you don't read it you might not have any idea of what is actually going on. So read it! (and review =D) Here is the link: s/8327145/1/Gundam-Seed-Humanity-s-Fate**

******You're going to have to take that 'link' and add it to a fanfiction URL in the proper way, or just click on my profile and find "Gundam Seed: Humanity's Fate"**

Author's Note: Some of the parts of this chapter, especially in the beginning and middle sections, are directly ripped from Phase 31A, 'The Truth Comes Forth'. However as it reaches the end this chapter does diverge. I did this because the chapters are indeed similar but at the same time the reason why it's taken this long to get Plot B out is because I really, _really _didn't want to write this chapter again, especially from scratch. I hope that's understandable.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

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"What the hell is this thing?" Shinn asked in a raging voice as the Force Impulse closed in on the Destroy gundam, the beam rifle equipped in it's right hand firing green beam shot after green beam shot, the much larger, darker machine blocking the hits as best as it could, suffering not a single scratch. "Who in their right mind would authorize the construction of such a... monstrosity?" Shinn asked himself placing his rifle on his back skirt armor and reaching for one of his beam sabers, flying towards his enemy and finally taking a slash at the Destroy.

"Argh! Try all you might! It's no use!" Auel cried, chuckling as he did and manipulating his cockpit controls so the Destroy raised it's right arm and blocked the Impulse from hitting it with it's shield before it batted the much smaller machine away, the Impulse flying off and looking as if it couldn't control it's flight movements momentarily.

"Shinn! Dammit! Arthur cover him! Meyrin what's his status?" Talia asked, cussing with a tone of extreme worry as she saw the Impulse go flying off after being swatted away by Auel.

"I'm not detecting major damage to the Impulse, but he has managed to stabilize himself." Meyrin informed as the camera cuts to show Shinn struggle to stabilize his machine in the air, doing so before he calmed himself down, breathing heavily, the Minerva's two twin beam cannons calibrating their firing angles in the meantime.

"Tristans, fire!" Arthur yelled, as four battleship-class verdant beam cannon blasts went right for the Destroy, it's pilot rolling his eyes and laughing as he did.

"Oh this again!" Auel giggled, activating one of his many beam shield generators and outright blocking the Minerva's shots, canceling green rays out with blue barriers right before they would impact his machine's dark torso. "Try harder! Or just get lost, assholes!"

"What in blazes is that thing? It managed to just shrug off the shot without even flinching!" Arthur asked, leaning forward in his chair looking stunned, some dribbles of sweat forming on his coordinator brow.

"It's like they took the technology from those mobile armors we fought earlier and decided to place it on something with ten times the firepower. What will the Earth Alliance think of next?" Talia clenched her teeth with anger as Meyrin's console received a message.

"Captain, we're getting an incoming transmission from the Archangel." The teenaged redhead informed, taking hold of the Captain's attention immediately.

"Patch it through. Let's see what the hell's going on." Talia ordered. 'Since they got here before us they might have observed something we haven't...' Meyrin nodded her head in approval as Captain Ramius appeared on the screen. "Greetings. I hope we could meet on better terms, but as it stands... we can't."

"I agree. From what I can guess your ship has been tasked with eliminating this... 'thing'. It's immune to beam shots, and every weapon we've fired but our positron cannon hasn't been able to hurt it in the slightest." Murrue warned grimly as Talia put her hand on her chin.

"And right now I don't think either of us is going to risk firing a cannon like that this close to a city, at least while there's an evacuation going on. It looks like it'll be up to the mobile suit pilots then. Maybe they'll have a better change if they manage to get in close to it and expose a weakness." Talia explained.

"That's what I'm counting on. For now though, we're bystanders." Murrue said.

"We'll think of something, Captain." Talia replied. 'Assuming it has a weakness... then again the bigger they are the harder they fall...' She thought, her eyes widening as the line went dead, turning to Meyrin again. "Can you establish a communications link with Zagreb?"

Figitting with her controls, Meyrin worked away at her keyboard for a few seconds before turning back to her blonde haired Captain. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. I want to talk to whoever is in charge over there, stat." Captain Talia Gladys ordered.

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"Hey Neo, who can I kill and who do I have to spare?" Auel asked, somewhat annoyed as the Destroy fired it's "Zorn Mk2" 200mm Energy Cannon in conjunction with it's three "Super Scylla" 1580mm Multi-phase Energy Beam Cannons at the enemy machines, specifically the Force Impulse, to which Shinn narrowly dodged the powerful energy blasts as they went past him, hitting the ground somewhat away and causing an eruption of light to appear from their impact, annihilating anything nearby. "Because I HATE THAT MACHINE!" He said as he raised his left arm and fired all the beam cannons on the ends of the fingers in a straight line. Neo sat in his Windam a little ways away from the battle, observing it.

"The only things you should concern yourself with not killing are the Strike Noir, the Strike Rouge, and the Archangel. Everything else is fair game and I really couldn't care about the Minerva or that gundam that's been bothering you. But whatever you do, do not let those machines that I specified get destroyed, especially the Strike Rouge." Neo sternly informed as he saw the mobile suits dance and weave their way around the air space near the Destroy, the massive unit taking shot after shot and firing salvo after salvo of beams in every direction.

"And what's so special about the Strike Rouge? Why does it get special treatment?" Auel asked as he remembered when the same mobile suit used it's beam boomerang to cut off one of the Abyss' arms in the battle to destroy Junius Seven.

"Because that's the Princess' mobile suit. You know, the one who you need to give the disk to?" Neo informed in a condescending tone, asserting authority over the Extended.

"Oh, right. Whatever. I won't kill it then!" Auel said as he batted away the Strike Noir with his left hand and then batted away the Impulse with his right. "But that damn transforming suit! It's fair game!" Auel fired his "Nefertem 503" Thermal Plasma Composite Cannons at the Impulse, Shinn managing to get away due to the distance between them before another mobile suit closed in on him as he flew over the burning winter forest.

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"Are you okay?" The pilot of the Strike Rouge gundam, Princess Cagalli Yula Attha said as she approached the Force Impulse gundam.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Princess! What the hell are you guys doing out here anyway?" Shinn said as he looked at the Rouge. Cagalli groaned in her cockpit, knowing that she had an argument at hand.

"We're trying to stop this thing! It's... it's a monster! What do you mean, what are you doing out here? Isn't that completely obvious?" She asked as she fired her beam Gatling gun at the Destroy hopelessly.

"Well... isn't ORB a NEUTRAL NATION after all? Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations. Isn't it some kind of bull crap like that?" Shinn asked as the Force Impulse pulled out it's beam rifle and shot down some incoming missiles from the Destroy as they closed in on him, Cagalli doing the same with her shield gun, sending many beam bolts at the projectiles to neutralize them.

'He remembers it word for word yet I thought he hated that line...' She thought to herself as Shinn continued to rant.

"So by all means... tell me, if that's your dogma shouldn't your response to this mess be to state, loudly and clearly to the innocent men, women, and children here 'We don't give a damn about you'?" Shinn growled as Cagalli lost it somewhat.

"What? That's utterly cruel! Why would I even consider..." Cagalli tried to say as the Strike Rouge kinda stopped a little in mid air.

"Because that's the price that comes with being 'neutral', hypocrite!" Shinn explained smugly and thinking that he had the upper hand versus the blonde in this argument.

"Shut up! I know what you're saying, Shinn Asuka. However, because of the nature of the situation at hand. Because people are dying right now... because this is a massacre... I felt we had no choice but to try to stop this! Besides I'm not even in ORB right now!" Cagalli began to explain but was silenced by Shinn, the two of them avoiding more fire from Auel as Kira tried to keep him busy down below. "And we shouldn't be arguing right now with that thing after us!" The Princess righteously raged.

"Pfft! If avoiding his predicable shots is such a problem for you then go back to your ship and be a bystander! I can fight words with you while avoiding this bastard's arsenal no problem!" Shinn bragged.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going back to my ship while I can stay out here and do something right now, so shut it! And let me finish! I'm not trying to stop this thing as the leader of ORB, but as a person who does not want to see this bloodshed going on any longer! Get it! This battle has nothing to do with ORB! It has to do with crazed bastards killing their own people! And besides, if we knock it down here then whoevers pulling the strings behind the curtain is probably less likely to send one of these to ORB when the people there start getting upset with the Seirans and their nonsense!" Cagalli ranted, rolling out of the way of another beam barrage.

"Yeah, sure, like the people there are going to rise up and do something!" Shinn rolled his eyes, doing the same.

"Just you wait... I know my people... and they won't sit around while Yuna and Yanata get away with the stuff they're doing and while they chose to affiliate their nation with the butchers who control the Earth Alliance!" The Lioness warned, growling slightly as the Rouge began to the thrust forward towards the Destroy which was battling the Strike Noir. "Kira!"

"Yeah... whatever!" Shinn snorted, putting the Impulse's thrusters to full and going forward towards the Destroy. "Might as well get in on the action anyway rather than trying to reason with an emotional and hypocritical ideologue."

* * *

PLANT Supreme Council Chamber:

The situation was that of extreme panic, so much so that Chairman Gilbert Durandal had just called an emergency meeting to discuss what was going underway right now down on Earth.

"What's going on?"

"Why didn't they at least give a warning first?"

"Burning down cities at random. It's insanity is what it is!"

"Several cities have been annihilated..." A man in a purple Zaft outfit stoop up and looked at the Supreme Council Chairman who currently had his hands over his face which was tilted downwards in a thinking pose. "Mr. Chairman, our forces must withdraw from Eurasia immediately! If they do not then the Alliance will continue with this massacre!" He warned as Gilbert simply shifted his narrow, golden eyes towards him.

"What good will that do? A withdrawal won't do anything!" He then lifted his head up and looked at the man with a serious look. "The Minerva, where is it now?"

"Sir you're honestly expecting that ship to save the day? Seriously?" Kendan Westenfluss, who was also sitting at the table asked as the other Supreme Council members just looked at him.

"The Minerva is currently engaging the Alliance's machine under orders from Fleet Command Headquarters. However given the ships current fighting strength... chances of it's success are doubtful" The other purple suited man explained, filling the chamber with doubt.

"Aren't the reports saying that the ORB fleet that was taken over by Princess Attha is also trying to stop that thing?" Another Supreme Council member asked, her voice managing to grab Chairman Durandal's attention.

"I understand. However, I will not have our forces try to liberate Eurasia only to have them fail just so that a fringe ORB force can come in and save the day. The Earth Forces have decided to unleash that unknown on Eurasia as a response to our actions and it is up to us to deal with it, not ORB! We are not going to let the Alliance get away with what they're doing! We have to stop that machine in it's tracks and in doing so send a message to those who are responsible for designing it, building it, and ordering it's deployment!" The camera quickly cuts to show a laughing Lord Djibril. "If we don't stop them then their arrogance will know no bounds and then what? Who knows what sick, twisted thing they'll try to get away with next? We need to make it very clear to the owners of such a monster that Zaft is going to stop this war and stop the bloodshed!" Gilbert said as he got up and out of his chair. "More cities and more innocent people will be lost if we fail to do this. The barbarity displayed by the Alliance cannot be allowed to continue, or can it be tolerated!" He finished.

"I fully agree with the Chairman." Kendan Westenfluss said as he began to clap, the rest of the Supreme Council following suit shortly afterwords.

* * *

"Dammit! Just how powerful is this monster!" Kira said as the Strike Noir fired off both of it's MAU-M3E42 linked linear guns and both of it's M8F-SB1 "Shorty" beam rifles at the Destroy, the shots colliding with the shield and being deflected away from it. "How do I stop it?" He asked himself.

"Hahaha!" Auel detached both of the Destroy's arms and sent them after the Noir.

"Grr... arrhh!" Kira said as he went full on the defensive and did what he could to dance between the shots coming at him from the Destroy's hands, several Murasumes following him as he did. 'It'll take more than that... now if only I could find a weakness...'

"Master Kira, are you okay?" A Murasame pilot asked, pulling alongside the Noir.

"Yes I'm fine. I can't do any damage to this thing but I'm fine. I want you guys to go and help Cagalli! Maybe she or Miss Murrue will be able to come up with a strategy! I'll hold it's attention in the meantime!" Kira explained as the Strike Noir avoided another shot from the Destroy, one of the Murasumes suffering a hit to it's chest from the Destroy in the meantime, it's white, orange and black body exploding as it's gundam-esque head popped off of it's body and fell to the ground beneath it. "And don't get shot down in the meantime!"

"Yes sir!" They replied in unison. Suddenly Kira saw the Impulse close in and try to slash at the Destroy.

'Shinn... if only I...' Kira thought as he shook his head and avoided another salvo from Auel.

"Arrghhh!" Shinn said as he was deflected away again. "What the hell is this things weakness?" Shinn complained as he tried to think of ways to stop the Destroy, the Strike Noir in the background, the remaining Murasames following the Rouge, and the menacing Destroy staring everyone down.

* * *

Stella was laying down in the Archangel's sick bay sleeping, the doctor working at his desk nearby, his left hand in a fist supporting his head as he leaned to his left, a confused and worried look in his eyes as the ship shook slightly.

"Just what the hell is up with this girl? Before... it showed her as being perfectly healthy... but now... I don't get it? All these bizarre readings have come up out of nowhere. I can't make any sense out of it... and if I can't figure out whats wrong with her chances are this could get worse and she could end up dead." The doctor said as he turned around and looked at the short blonde haired girl, sleeping like a baby. One of the nurses on the ship came over to Stella and put her hand on the girls head. "How is she. Check her status." He asked. The nurse went over to the machine that was nearby and looked at it before turning and facing the doctor.

"She's... it looks like she's getting worse." The nurse said.

"I see. Do what you can. I'll try to figure something out." He said as he turned back towards his computer screen and continued to ponder Stella's condition. 'No human being would ever suffer from this, it's absolutely unheard of. Wait... no human being... no normal human being... I know I need to get my hands on some Earth Alliance data... or she needs to be put in the hands of someone who has that information, for I can do nothing right now...' He thought as he felt the ship shake some more. Stella then shifted a little in her bed. "And she might get up soon, and want to see Prince Kira... even if she wants to take out her mobile suit she's in no condition to do that under any circumstance..." The doctor said as the camera shifts out and above the Archangel which was firing it's Valiants.

* * *

"What's the delay? Why hasn't Zagreb fallen yet? What's holding the Destroy up?" Lord Djibril asked as he sat in his control room, fuming with anger.

"Meow!" Paladin cried.

"Sir the Destroy has engaged the Zaft vessel known as the Minerva and it's mobile suits as well as the Archangel and some mobile suits belonging to that ORB fleet." One of the Lord's subordinates informed.

"Captain Trupui reports that the Destroy has been unable to move forward. The evacuation of Zagreb is currently in full swing." Another subordinate explained, causing Djibril to slam his fist on his chair.

"Dammit! Order Captain Trupui and Neo Roanoke to get off their behinds and do some damage! Have our Windams torment the enemy mobile suits while Auel tried to shoot them down! Surely they can't hold up against that amount of firepower! And have the Bonaparte deal with those two ships while their suits are in peril!" Djibril ordered.

"Meoooooooooooooow!" His cat screamed. Djibril got out of his chair and walked over towards a table where a bottle of his usual expensive red wine was.

"What's the status of the Zaft forces occupying other areas of Western Eurasia? Are they leaving yet? Have we smacked them in the face enough?" Djibril asked. The Chancellor of the Eurasian Federation responded.

"No sir, they haven't. They're sitting where they are right now. We've detected no movement from the Zaft forces that have gone into other parts of Eurasia." He responded.

"This all your fault, you incompetent. You allowed them into Eurasia and didn't ensure that they would regret it. Now I've had to unleash the most powerful mobile suit ever devised by Adukurf to date. I wanted to save this thing until we decided to perform an attack on Gibraltar or Carpentaria... but no... Whatever, the damage has been done. Now it's all the more important that the Destroy cut a burning path of discipline throughout Eurasia and take Zaft out." Djibril said as he poured a glass of his wine.

"Understood." The Chancellor said.

* * *

"Eat missiles!" Auel yelled as the Destroy fired missiles at the Force Impulse.

"Argh!" Shinn yelled realizing that he didn't have enough fire power to shoot down every single projectile as he backed away, firing his beam rifle when suddenly some more beams blitzed across him and took out the remaining missiles, a cloud of destruction forming in front of him. Turning to his right he saw the Strike Noir. "Thanks..." Shinn said softly, breathing a little heavier than normal.

"You're... welcome. Now let's try to take this thing out. Any ideas?" Kira asked, just as puzzled as the Impulse's pilot.

"I've got nothing right now... this thing has so many shield emitters I haven't been able to get in close, and don't even tell me about it's ludicrous firepower. If anything we're better off waiting until the city has been evacuated and then trying to take it out with a positron cannon blast" Shinn explained as he dodged more incoming fire from the Destroy as his console began to beep in a way that indicated incoming hostiles. "What the?"

"Several Windams coming our way..." Kira mumbled.

"Yeah... trouble..." Shinn replied as the mobile suits noticed the Destroy gundam detach it's arms and send them after the Strike Noir and Force Impulse. "So now we've got to deal with this big thing and some grunts!? At the same time?" The red eyed pilot complained as another, feminine voice spoke afterwords.

"No, you brat!"

"Huh?"

"You and Kira focus on the big one! We'll deal with the Windams trying to bother you and guide them a little ways away!" Cagalli ordered as the Strike Rouge raised it's right hand and made a pointing gesture. "Murasame team on me! NOW!" She ordered, the thrusters on the back of the Strike Rouge opening up wide as it's engines went to life and the suit flew in the direction of the Earth Alliance machines, the remaining five ORB Murasames following suit in their Waverider forms.

'Shinn...' Kira thought, thinking about what he needed to tell the younger pilot.

"Alright guys let's go. We're approaching the Destroy." Neo explained as his custom Windam, followed by ten other normal mass production mobile suits approached the Destroy's battle zone. The black haired man then heard a beeping on his radar. "And here they come." Neo said as he turned around and blocked an incoming shot from one of the ORB Murasumes.

"ARRGHH! How dare you do this! You monsters!" Cagalli yelled as the Strike Rouge opened fire with it's beam Gatling gun and shoulder mounted cannons.

"You guys don't know who you're messing with!" A random Murasame pilot said as it flew by a Windam, dodging beam rifle fire before switching into mobile suit mode and shooting it down.

* * *

"Captain Trupui, most of the machines fighting the Destroy have moved to intercept out Windam. I'm only detecting two heat signatures fighting the Destroy!" The radar operator aboard the Bonaparte alerted. The Captain of the ship then made a humming noise as if he had an idea.

"Well now... I'm getting bored. It's time we decided to join in the fight." He said lightly before speaking up and giving orders. "Bring the main engines online. Prepare to head away from the city towards the area where the blizzard is the strongest! Aim main guns. Target: The Archangel and Minerva." He ordered. All around the bridge of the Bonaparte talks of 'is he crazy' and 'I hope he's joking' were heard. "Now do it! Open fire! Main cannons one through four, fire!" He ordered as the Bonaparte fired all four of it's double beam cannons into the distance where the two other ships generally were.

* * *

"Detecting targeting lasers!" Bart frantically informed.

"Evade! Twenty to port! From where?" Talia ordered as Malik shifted the Minerva to evade the incoming shots, the energy beams barely passing under the hull.

"Those shots came from the Alliance Hannibal-class. At ten o'clock. Distance: Seven thousand and we're not the only being shot at." Bart stated as Malik once again shifted the Minerva to avoid incoming fire.

"After them! I'm not going to sit around and let us just be attacked by that damn ship! What' the Impulse's power level?" Talia asked.

"Shinn's still at around 85% overall power. He won't need a recharge for some time with how much he's using the beam rifle." Meyrin reported.

'Makes sense. Can't hurt that thing with the rifle anyway...' Gladys thought. "Alright then. Arthur, aim Tristans at the Hannibal-class." The Minerva's Captain ordered.

"Trying to, Captain. The weathers rather rough in that area and we're having a hard time trying to get a complete lock." Arthur said.

"Do the best that you can." Talia stated as the Minerva fired a salvo from it's Tristans and it looked like the Archangel fired one of it's Valiants into the blizzard, the low visibility showing what appeared to be some dirt and snow get kicked up into the air but nothing more.

* * *

The Force Impulse continued to battle the Destroy gundam, Shinn pulling out his right beam saber and charging at it, glowing pink blade and all.

"Maybe if I hit a sweet spot..." He said as he closed in and engaged the right arm of the machine, performing futile slash after futile slash as the Destroy blocked his attacks with the beam shield on that arm, Auel looking as if he could fall asleep in the cockpit while holding the furious Impulse off. However, the blue haired Extended had other plans.

"Shinn it's no use!" Kira said as the Noir closed in, but then Kira noticed the Destroy detach it's left arm and send it flying around, out of the Impulse's view. "Oh no, SHINN BACK NOW!" Kira yelled seriously.

"No, I can beat this thing!" Shinn yelled as he slashed away before noticing the left arm coming at him. "Shit!" He said, noticing that he would not be able to get out of the way in time.

"Say goodbye!" Auel yelled as he fired the five beams from the Destroy's left hand, chuckling as he did.

"No!" Shinn yelled. "Aghh!" He screamed as he felt the Force Impulse get dragged away at the last second.

"I got you!" Kira said as the Strike Noir rammed into the Force Impulse and in doing so pushed both gundams out of the line of fire.

"Dammit!" Auel yelled as he aimed all of his chest cannons and his head cannon at the two mobile suits. "Stand still and die!" He fired off all of his weapons.

"My turn!" Shinn yelled as he grabbed the Strike Noir as both mobile suits went out of the line of fire.

"It wasn't really your turn, Shinn. It was the least I could do, considering..." Kira said, a tear in his eyes as the Strike Noir shot down incoming missiles from the Destroy and the Impulse weaved its way through the beam fire of the massive war machine, Shinn equipping a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything to earn such respect from you, Kira." Shinn said.

"No you haven't. However at the same time I've wronged you in the worst way possible." Kira said as the Noir saw the Impulse about to get hit by a beam and grapple onto it and pull it out of the way, Shinn clearly confused and unable to process what Kira was saying.

"What? What the hell?" Shinn asked. Inside the cockpit of the Strike Noir Kira was looking as if he was about to admit right then and there that he killed Shinn's family. However, he would be interrupted.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm sick of all this talking!" Auel could be heard over the line as the Destroy fired another volley from the beams on the sides of it's backpack.

"What? YOU?" Kira said, recognizing the voice but tried to remember whether this one was Sting or Auel as Stella had said earlier.

"THE... THE... PILOT... WHO WAS AT DIOCULA!" Shinn yelled as he remembered Sting and Auel trying to shoot at Kira, Cagalli, Shinn, and Stella.

"That's me. Now both of you must die! Black one needs to die for kidnapping Stella, and the white one needs to die for killing Sting!" Auel said as the Destroy fired another volley from it's chest cannons.

"Your side was attacking ours in that battle! He tried to kill my friends and paid for it!" Shinn yelled as the Impulse weaved its way through the battle.

"You know, if you care about Stella, then you'll care about her happiness, Auel." Kira said.

"Yes I care about Stella! Even though none of us were blood related I've known her for a very long time! We grew up together! Even though we were all trained to kill! And then one of you stole her and the other killed Sting! Now it's just me! I've... I've lost my brother and my sister! And I know she's not happy and I'm sad because now I've got no one! That is why I'm going to Destroy both of you bastards!" Auel roared as the Destroy unleashed a barrage from all of the beam weapons on it's body, the Force Impulse raising it's shield and the Strike Noir pulling out one of it's anti-ship swords, both of them using their equipment to block the incoming beam saber attack as they made sure only one beam would hit them and that it would be from the hand cannons.

"Yes Stella is happy! Do you want to know something, Auel?" Kira asked as the Strike Noir weaved its way through more beam fire and then activated it's two beam cannons, raised its arms up, aimed the cannons under his shoulders, and then fired them at the Destroy, Auel raised his left hand to block, but as he did Shinn managed stay low to the ground, sneak up on the Destroy, and then quickly ascend and slash at the Destroy's extended left arm. The damage was not enough to severe the limb though. "Good job, Shinn!" Kira complimented the other, younger pilot.

"Thanks Kira, it's good to know we can actually deal damage to this bastard!" Shinn said with a satisfied smirk. Inside the cockpit of the Destroy, Auel had an angry and somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

"Damn both of you! That's the first and last hit you'll get on me!" Auel yelled. "Now what do you want to tell me, bastard?"

"Stella's in love with me. I'll repeat that for you: Stella's in love with me. I've made her happy. You apparently treat her like a sister and want her to be happy. Well then you shouldn't kill me then." Kira said. Shinn stopped mid air and it looked as if the Destroy went into a semi-idle pose.

"Kira, are you..." The Force Impulse turned towards the Noir as Shinn asked that question.

"I'm not lying. Now hopefully this guy will stop this madness! How many people have you killed and how many people have you stripped of their happiness, Auel?" Kira asked as the Strike Noir pulled out it's other anti-ship sword and charged at the Destroy.

"Not a chance! I know you're not telling the truth!" Auel said as the Destroy prepared it's beam shields.

'Damn... apparently he doesn't care about his 'sister' then... and if he's willing to go ahead and annihilate some many people... well then he'll have to get through me first.' Kira thought.

* * *

The Strike Rouge sliced an enemy Windam in half with it's anti-ship sword as Cagalli gritted her teeth.

"How many are left?" She said as she looked at her radar. "Seven of them. And we've lost two of our Murasumes! Guys regroup on me!" Cagalli ordered as the three remaining ORB Murasumes grouped onto the Strike Rouge as the seven remaining Windams, one of them looking to be a custom Windam with a special paint job closed in. "Alright... let's do this!"

"Yes, your majesty!" The remaining Murasumes said as they prepared to engage the Windams.

'Dammit! I can't have you die! Not you... Whatever... I won't attack you directly. You're good enough not to get killed if you have a mobile suit like that, right?' Neo thought as the Windams came at the ORB mobile suits. The man with the scar on his face then rolled to his left and avoided an incoming beam saber shot, gritting his teeth.

"I'm not letting you go after and kill those fleeing civilians!" Cagalli said as the Strike Rouge aimed it's Beam Gatling gun at an enemy Windam that had just fired off all of it's missiles at her. The shots from the Strike Rouge hit the missiles and destroyed them, creating a cloud of smoke. "AHHH!" The Princess yelled as she emerged from the smoke cloud, anti-ship sword in hand and then stabbed the Windam directly in the chest, piercing the pilot's body before pulling back and letting the machine explode. Cagalli then ascended and did a back flip, dodging an incoming beam rifle shot and the Windam that fired it as it blitz by her. She then side stepped to her right so that she was directly behind the enemy machine and then aimed the Rail gun mounted on the Strike Rouge's left shoulder at the enemy Windam and fired it, ending the mobile suit. The three remaining Murasumes flew in formation around the Windams before they popped into mobile suit mode and fired their beam rifles at the five Alliance machines, the enemy firing back. Two of the Windams were taken out however at the same time two of the Murasumes were as well.

"Lady Cagalli!" The last Murasame pilot yelled as he found himself surrounded by the three Windams.

"Dammit!" She said as she grabbed her beam boomerang and whipped it at the Alliance suit. "Hold on!" She said as the boomerang managed to take out one of the Alliance machines before returning to it's owner who placed it back in it's spot. The last Murasame then pulled out it's beam saber and went right for Neo's machine, the black haired man seeing the ORB mass production model heading for him as he blocked the incoming swing with his shield, sidestepped the Murasame, pulled out his armor perpetrator, and then threw it at the Murasame, the ORB mobile suit suffering a hit in the back as it exploded.

"Damn... you..." Cagalli groaned, a tear in her eyes The Strike Rouge then found the other Windam heading for it full force with one of it's beam sabers in hand.

"AHHH!" The pilot yelled as he took a swing at Cagalli. "What?" He said as he saw the Strike Rouge literally grab his arm with its right hand.

"RAGH!" Cagalli then kicked the Windam with her left foot, causing the mobile suit to fall to its left as she aimed her beam Gatling gun and fired it, turning the last normal Windam into Swiss cheese.

"Dammit... now it's just me..." Neo grumbled to himself as he found the Strike Rouge coming at him. Cagalli had drawn one of her anti-ship swords and was taking swings at Neo, the Windam pilot making hasty evasion moves as he tried not to get hit.

'He's not really fighting back? Is he just bad, or trying something? Doesn't matter!' The Princess thought decisively, cutting off the Windam's right hand, which had it's beam rifle.

'Damn... I can't fight against her...' Neo thought, dodging a swing from Cagalli before flying up into the air, trying to get away as the Rouge turned around and pivoted it's two cannons upwards.

"Oh no you're not!" Two shots blitzed from the Strike Rouge I.W.S.P., going upward at a sixty degree angle and striking the Windam in it's right and left shoulders, causing it to lose both it's arms as well as the wings on it's flight pack.

"What the... no, I might not..." Neo said, confused from his cockpit as his suit's alarms went off, the suit plummeting to the ground as he lost all control over it, the suits torso snapping off of it's hips and legs as it hit the ground, rolling off into the distance as the lower section exploded. "Ugh... guh..." He breathed heavily, feeling his entire body in pain as if he had broken some bones from the impact with the cold, hard dirt, his monitors cracked and broken as several parts of his controls seemed to be busted up, the entire cockpit turned into a mess as Neo coughed up some blood and tried to unbuckle himself and open his Windam's cockpit, fainting as he depressed the button.

"What the..." Cagalli paused, thinking her enemy as one who was completely destroyed as she zoomed in on the Windam's lone chest piece and head, noticing the door open. "It's still functional...?" She cocked an eyebrow and slowly closed in on the Windam below her. "If the pilot's still alive or even the computer... we might be able to get some answers..."

* * *

Archangel bridge:

Both Gladys and Ramius were incredibly annoyed at the game they were playing with the Alliance's Hannibal-class ship as it continued to bombard them with beams from far away and they fired back, never having had the luck to strike the enemy land battleship. However Malik and Neumann had moved their respective vessels back so they were harder to hit.

"Miss Murrue, I'm coming back, and I've got one injured." Cagalli spoke from the Rouge's cockpit, having had opened up a communications line to the bridge.

"Which Murasame pilot is it? All of them went down, didn't they?" The Captain asked in a worried tone as the ship shook slightly, a double beam blast from the Bonaparte striking the ground below the ship and kicking up some snow onto the Archangel's underside.

"Unfortunately we lost all our Murasames, but we took out every Windam there besides..." The Princess tried to say as a visual image of the Strike Rouge appeared on screen, the suit holding the cockpit and head of Neo's Windam.

"What happened? Miss Cagalli!" Murrue questioned, puzzled by the Princess' actions.

"This was the one who was leading them. I shot it down but as you can see it has a custom paint job like the one we encountered in the Indian Ocean. I think that either Stella may know who this is or they may be able to give us some answers on why all this is happening." Cagalli informed in a cold and somewhat cold voice, implying that she was bringing the cockpit on board no matter what. As a result of this Murrue shook her head silently in approval and picked up her phone.

"Deck crew, the Rouge is coming back. Have a medical crew on standby, we've got one injured." She ordered, the Archangel's port side catapult deck opening up in the meantime.

* * *

Minerva:

"Arthur, I'm getting tired of this." Talia groaned as the Minerva descended, a shot from the Bonaparte failing to strike the ship's port.

"Yes ma'am! Isolde, Tristan two, fire!" The black suited Executive Officer ordered, five beams coming from the Minerva and flying off into the distance, except this time the Minerva was lucky, an explosion, which was small and hard to see, but definitely proof of some sort of machine suffering a hit, appeared away in the distance. "Got them!" Arthur cheered, clenching his right fist in excitement as the Captain raised her left hand.

"Hold your horses... magnification 50x on that explosion." Talia ordered as a small box appeared on the front screen of the Minerva's bridge, displaying a magnified image of the explosion. "We didn't get them completely. Our shots managed to... Malik!" She screamed, the helmsman pulling upwards on the controls as the ship dodged another beam cannon blast. "Damn... at least they're wounded now though. Meyrin, what's the status of the evacuation? Are they almost done?"

"Not yet, ma'am." The red head reported as Gladys groaned, looking at the city that was behind her ship and then at the monstrosity that was in front of her, battling the Strike Noir and Force Impulse.

* * *

Bonaparte bridge:

"Direct hit, starboard side deck!" One of the ship's crew members informed severely from the bridge, Captain Trupui gritting his teeth as he looked out onto the vessel's deck, noticing how the beam cannon mounted on the bow-starboard side of the ship had been destroyed as well as most of the mobile suit deck there too.

"Do we still have full engine power?" He asked, sweating from his forehead as he did.

"Ninety percent, sir!"

"Pull us back one full ship's length... we're going to have to be more careful when we're evading their return fire!"

* * *

"No! Stella... lay down! Stella!" Cagalli yelled at the Extended girl, the two of them in the Archangel's sick bay as several guards brought in an unconscious Neo on a stretcher, the black haired and scared man bleeding and looking as if several of his bones had been broken. At the same time the Princess of ORB was still in her pilot's uniform while Stella herself was trying to break free from the nurse that was in the sick bay.

"Neo! NEO! That's you! Where's Auel? Where is he? AHHH!" The young, confused, and sick girl yelled, crying as she did before she broke free of the nurse and managed to get up, the two nearby guards who Cagalli had taken with her when they rushed the stretcher to the sick bay attempting to subdue her. "No, leave me!"

"STELLA!" Cagalli screamed, rushing at the blonde as Stella elbowed her in the chest, knocking some of the air out of Cagalli and pushing her back as she fell against the wall, the guards taking their eyes off of the raging Extended to attend to their Princess.

"NEO! Where is Auel? Is he outside? NEO!" She looked into the man's closed and almost lifeless eyes as she noticed the doctor trying to come at her with a sedative. "AH! Not you again! Stella is going to find Auel! Stella wants to see Kira!" Stella frantically yelled before running out of the sick bay away from the doctor, nurse, guards and the Princess.

"Lady Cagalli..."

"Ugh... my flight suit managed to absorb most of the impact! I'm fine! Get her! Get Stella back here!" Cagalli ordered, her tone that of an angry women and her cheeks red with rage.

"Lady Cagalli, Stella is in no condition to leave the ship, especially not in a mobile suit!" The doctor warned as the Lioness turned her attention to him, the guards having had run out of the room.

"I can see that... ugh..." Cagalli groaned as she stood up. "We'll get her back. In the meantime check out this guy. He managed to survive plummeting to the ground from high in the air in a Windam's cockpit... well, at least the cockpit survived." She stated bitterly as the doctor nodded.

* * *

"Kira you're kidding? That's the person who's piloting that machine?" Murrue asked from the Archangel bridge, looking at a feed that showed Auel sitting in the pilot's seat of the Destroy.

"Kira..." She said in a soft tone.

"Yes. His name is apparently Auel and he's a 'friend' of Stella's." Kira said from the Strike Noir's cockpit. The people on the Archangel's bridge who were hearing this could sense that he was having a rough time dealing with them.

"He's convinced that we're making Stella unhappy and wants to get rid of us because of that." Kira said.

"What? Whatever. How much damage have you managed to deal to that machine?" Murrue asked.

"Not that much damage, Miss Murrue. Yes we have managed to hit it but... we scratching it if anything. That thing has strong armor." Kira replied. Murrue made a 'hmm' sound for a second.

"And We're too close to the town to fire the Lohengrin..." Murrue said as Mirallia gasped and said something. 'Although I don't think that my reasoning will be the same as Gladys'...'

"Captain, we're detecting unauthorized use of the port side mobile suit catapult." Mirallia informed as Chief Murdock's face appeared on one of the monitors for the Captain's Chair.

"Hey Captain, that girl's taken the Gaia and is going to launch!" Murdock informed.

"What? Tell her to stop! Now!" Murrue ordered as Cagalli quickly ran onto the bridge.

"Kira! Stella's going to try to..." The Princess attempted to speak.

"No, let her leave. I'll get her." Kira said over the line as Murrue turned to face him. "Please, she'll listen to me." Kira said.

"Okay, fine then. Let her out." Murrue ordered. Inside the Archangel's port side catapult the Gaia prepared to launch from the ship, Stella literally wearing only the gown she had worn in sick bay and escaped in.

* * *

"Stella Loussier, Gaia, launching!" She said as she launched her machine from the Archangel.

* * *

"Ma'am! We're detecting a mobile suit launching from the Archangel! It's the Gaia!" Bart informed.

"What?" Talia said. 'Wait... that mobile suit's pilot... is that girl... the one who Shinn is worried about since she had a Block Word used on her...' Talia thought.

"The giant enemy mobile suit has stopped moving, ma'am." Bart informed.

'Stopped moving? Could their be a correlation?' Gladys began to type away at the controls of her seat.

"Ma'am, they're asking for three more minutes until the evacuation is complete." Meyrin announced as the Captain continued to press her armrest's buttons.

"Understood. Malik, prepare to shift the Minerva's position by one point five kilometers to starboard."

"Captain?" The helmsman pondered.

"You'll understand in a minute or so. Now do it!" She ordered.

* * *

"Auel! Auel!" The blonde haired purple eyed girl yelled as the Gaia closed in on the Destroy gundam, the Strike Noir, and the Force Impulse. "Auel!"

"What?" Shinn said as he heard Stella close in. "Stella!"

"Stella? What are you doing? Why are you with those people! Those liars! I am going to Destroy all of them!" Auel said.

"No Auel, stop it!" Stella said as the Gaia approached the Destroy which had stopped. The Force Impulse tried to close in on it but the Strike Noir stopped it.

"Shinn... I think if we let Stella talk to this guy she can get him to stop. Maybe if he hears the truth from her..." Kira tried to say.

"I get it. Sure. But I wouldn't take your guard down anyway." Shinn said as the Force Impulse raised it's shield.

"Stella! You've been... brainwashed by those evil people!" Auel said as the Destroy looked right at the Gaia.

"No, Auel! I haven't!" Stella said as the Gaia lowered itself to where the gash in the cockpit cover was.

"That bastard in the black suit said you fell in love with him! Ha! Ya right!" Auel said as he raised the Destroy's right arm and fired at the Strike Noir, Kira dodging.

"Kira..." Shinn said from the Force Impulse

"I know... just a little longer." Kira said.

"I did! Auel... Stella did fall in love with Kira... he told you the truth!" Stella said.

"What? Now I know you're not the real Stella! And because of that you're going to perish because you probably got rid of the real Stella!" Auel said.

"NO! AUEL STOP IT! STELLA IS REAL!" She said as she brought the Gaia closer to the Destroy and looked as if she was about to open the cockpit when suddenly. "Oooh... naa... muuu..." She grunted in pain like she did before, in the Archangel's 'Angel Bath', her grip on the controls loosening as she closed her eyes, the Gaia gundam falling to the ground in front of the Destroy gundam.

"What? STELLA?" Auel screamed.

"STELLA NO!" Kira followed suit, attempting to close in on the transformable machine when the blue haired Extended pilot leaned his machine forward somewhat and blocked the path. "STELLA! Let me get her so I can take her back to the sick bay!" Kira ordered as Auel narrowed his eyes.

"No! You've... hurt her! And besides, you can't heal her anyway! Not without the proper INFORMATION!" Auel swung the Destroy's right arm back, forcing Kira's Noir into the distance, the Ultimate Coordinator manipulating his thrusters to stabilize his machine when he noticed something.

"Shinn? What!" Kira questioned, observing the Force Impulse rush under the arms of the Destroy and quickly grab the Gaia, which was laid on the ground nearby. "SHINN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"You stop it, Kira! Like he said, you're doctor can't heal her!" Shinn raged from the Impulse's cockpit, on one of the screens inside the machine a message could be seen.

To: Shinn Asuka (Impulse, Pilot)

From: Talia Gladys (Minerva, Captain)

Message: Capture the Gaia and return to the ship's deck. Brace yourself.

* * *

Bonaparte bridge:

"Maintain fire on those two..." Captain Trupui was cut off by one of his officers.

"Captain, we've lost line of sight on the Minerva. It's disappeared behind Auel's Destroy."

"What?" Trupui's eyes grew in size.

* * *

"I've had enough of this nonsense. Meyrin, they said three minutes and it's been three minutes. Is the evacuation complete?" Gladys asked her communications officer as the Minerva finished a turn and faced the Destroy gundam head on, the Impulse and Gaia approaching from the distance.

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright then..." She mumbled to herself before clearing her throat. "Arthur, activate Tannhauser, and target the giant enemy mobile suit, but be sure the beam strikes the ground behind it." Gladys ordered.

"What?" He asked indecisively, turning to face his blonde Captain as she gave him an approving nod. "Ugh... yes ma'am. Activate Tannhauser. Target the enemy mobile suit..." He stated as the Minerva's gray bow shutter lifted open and the dark positron cannon came forward, several lights on it coming to life at the same time.

* * *

"Wait? Shinn! You don't need to!" Kira tried to say as he was forced to avoid more beam shots from Auel.

"You bastard! This is all your fault! If you hadn't... hadn't done what you did she would be fine! She would not be dying!" The blue haired Extended raged as Kira was forced to evade twenty beam shots from the back of the Destroy gundam.

* * *

"Kira no!" Murrue yelled, jumping forward a little in her seat.

"Captain! I'm detecting a large energy buildup from the Minerva! It looks like she's preparing to fire her positron cannon!" Dalida warned with complete urgency.

"Dammit Gladys..." The Archangel's Captain shook her head. "Call back the Noir, now! Neumann, twenty to port. Minimize damage from the shock wave!" Murrue ordered, the Strike Noir visibly moving away from the Destroy as it focused on it due to it's pilot's rage.

* * *

"Fire!" Captain Talia Gladys moved forward in her seat and yelled, the Tannhauser vibrating and making an alternating noise before firing a giant red and blue beam of positrons at the Destroy gundam and Auel Neider, the young Extended turning to see the anti-matter laser heading straight for him and attempting to raise his shields and block it, but to no good effect. As the Tannhauser beam struck the Destroy gundam's shield, it simply bypassed them and then proceeded to go directly through the gundam afterwords, obliterating the cockpit and it's pilot, Auel Neider, the beam continuing onwards past that, exiting the broken and exploding machine and striking the ground a hundred or so meters behind the Destroy, the anti-matter laser reacting with the matter of the snow and dirt to create an explosion of enormous magnitude, the earth around the impact seeming to erupt as a large shock wave filled the area heading towards and destroying the Hannibal-class ship known as the Bonaparte, flipping it over in the process as the crew members and Captain Trupui braced for dear life, the other end of the wave heading directly towards the Archangel and Minerva, which had turned different directions in order to minimize the shock's effect, the Strike Noir and Force Impulse clinging for dear life on the hulls of their respective vessels and the Impulse holding the Gaia's arm at the same time, refusing to let go. Beneath the warships the positron shock wave entered the Croatian city known as Zagreb and wreaked havoc on it, destroying all the buildings on the northern side of the city.

"My god..." Arthur spoke softly in shock as he held onto his seat, the entire ship shaking at the same time, Shinn's face appearing on one of the Minerva's monitors.

"Captain... I'm fine... I made it. Heading back to the ship now." He informed, the tone of his voice slightly off at the same time.

"Good. Get some rest, a medical crew should be down there to deal with that girl." Gladys spoke before cutting the line. 'He didn't ask me why I ordered him to capture the Gaia? He's probably more concerned about the Archangel and it's reaction to this.' She placed her right hand on her chin. "Malik, get us out of here. Maximum thrust." She bitterly ordered.

* * *

"Captain... Gladys..." Cagalli spoke from the Archangel's bridge, the ship in question holding steady to the southwest of the Minerva, everyone on board staring in shock at the damage that had been done to the city below them.

"I wouldn't think of firing the Lohengrins this close to the city... but I'm not her..." Murrue shook her head negatively. "What's Kira's status?" She requested.

"He's just returned to the hanger bay." Miriallia informed as Dalida seemed to give off a 'shocked' expression from his station.

"Captain, we've got one incoming Murasame from the south at high speeds and is transmitting a message." Dalida stated as one ORB mass production model in it's Waverider form approached the Archangel, flying over the still intact part of Zagreb in the process.

"What? Just one Murasame?" Cagalli asked.

"What 'message'?" Murrue questioned, waiting a couple of seconds until Dalida could respond.

"'Recon mobile suits report a force moving out north from Suez base. Takemikazuchi and the rest of the ORB fleet is moving west to avoid being located.' That's it." Dalida said.

"Damn... so they've decided to come after us." Waltfeld said from below Murrue as Kira entered the bridge, rushing inside and wearing his flight suit still.

"Miss Murrue... where's the Impulse? It... it captured the Gaia!" The Ultimate Coordinator spoke, his breath heavy and his eyes somewhat filled with sorrow.

"The Minerva's headed towards the north. As to where, I've no idea." Murrue stated.

"Why would they want to capture Stella?" Cagalli questioned.

"Well, it was their machine to begin with..." Andrew grumbled.

"Doesn't matter, we're going to get her back! We'll follow the Minerva!" Kira ordered, trying to express urgency as Cagalli shook her head.

"No, we're not." Cagalli snagged her twin's attention, and worried gaze. "Kira, the fleet's changing position to avoid being detected by the Alliance and we're doing the same. Take us west, Captain Ramius." Cagalli ordered.

"CAGALLI!" Kira raged, raising his arms somewhat.

"KIRA!" She yelled back. "We'll get Stella later... we will... but for now we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Caga..."

"Captain." The Lioness shook her head at a staring Murrue, which shook her head in return.

'I couldn't save Stella... and I couldn't even tell Shinn about his family... dammit...' Kira thought bitterly, trying to clench his fists, the Archangel changing it's course and increasing the thrust to it's engines before heading west towards the Alps...

* * *

Author's Note: As you can see some things were the same but not all. Also the next episode will be very different from 32A and the one after that... well let's just say it'll be interesting.


	3. Phase 32: Knowledge is Agony

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

Last chapter was sub 10k words, this one's around 14.5k, so it's closer to my normal average that I had in PoO before things got stupidly ridiculous near the end with the 28k final... lol now I understand why some people complain about certain gundam series having rushed endings considering their time restraints lol

Author's Note: I said this in the long A/N at the start of this fic, but I put this information near the end so I bet some of you might have missed out on it getting the message. However for the sake of it I'll say it again for those who missed. If you go to my profile you'll find a deviantart account link. Right now I have vectors of the ORB-04 Judicator and ZGMF-X20S Legacy gundams done up. In the future I think I might make either the ORB-02 Veneficus or ZGMF-X70S Assassin next, I'm not sure.

* * *

Individual snow flakes continued to pour down from the dark, puffy, and cloudy sky onto Eurasia, or more specifically, the area above the half-ruined city of Zagreb. As the LHM-BB01 Minerva raced across the white, snowy ground at maximum velocity, its numerous nuclear pulse thrusters generating a high amount of forward momentum, which looked like blue fire coming out of the engines themselves, the crew remained silent in their stations, the vessel's bridge having been raised upwards into it's casual, cruising position. Captain Gladys was sitting in her chair, her head tilted slightly downwards and her arms crossed in her lap. Arthur Trine was resting at his station, his hands on their respective armrests as his brown eyes gazed out onto the white nothingness in front of the ship. Malik had his hands on the controls and kept fine control over the ship, moving his arms now and then to account for the high winds battering against the hull in an attempt to change it's course, only looking at some of his gauges every now and then in order to check what was happening, while Bart and Meyrin just simply stayed where they were in their chairs, on the lookout for anything that might be approaching them.

"Captain, I just want to say something... with your permission, of course." Arthur announced from his seat, failing to even look at the white suited blonde and breaking the absolute silence of the bridge at the same time.

"Go ahead Arthur." Talia stated with utter simplicity, angling her head up by about ten degrees so it was parallel to the horizontal.

"I think you made the correct decision back then... using the Tannhauser to finally put a stop to that... well I don't even know if I should call it a mobile suit or even a mobile armor, considering how... just how large and different it was from anything we've ever seen before." Arthur explained in a calm and somewhat humble tone, wondering just what his Captain's response would be, and growing mentally anxious as she took her sweet time before replying, the entire bridge crew listening in despite remaining as they were at their stations, until she let out a light sigh.

"Thank you, Arthur. That was... a difficult one to make, considering how much damage the Tannhauser did to the surrounding area. I was hoping that we would have been able to stop that thing before it managed to get into the city but considering our vessel's normal weaponry was completely useless... I grew doubtful."

"At least we waited until the evacuation was complete before going ahead and ending that beast..." Malik puffed from the helm.

"Indeed. I remember how it was at Gulnahan. Telling you guys to be certain where you were aiming the Tannhauser so we didn't accidentally destroy the entire town. Well... the situation was different this time around. That mobile suit was too close and I didn't feel like trying to drag it away. Chances are it would just get annoyed and ignore us. I will admit though, I was hoping that it had the same positron reflector as the Zamza-zah we fought outside ORB, or the Gells-Ghe in Gulnahan, and that it wouldn't be destroyed but rather get knocked over like a giant, black metal turtle, unable to fight afterwords..." She explained as Meyrin and someone near the front of the bridge giggled at that simile. "Guys it's not funny! Not when the lives of civilians are at stake like that!"

"Ugh... right. Sorry ma'am." Meyrin apologized.

"However it wasn't, and so the full effect of the Tannhauser went on to destroy half that town in the process... that's why I waited so long for the evacuation, just in case something were to happen and there would be more damage than anticipated. Just know right now that I'll never give you guys the order to fire the Tannhauser into a city populated with civilians, alright? They suffer enough already with whats happened this war and our gripe is not with them, but their governments and militaries, got it?" She asked, her voice laced with severity.

"Yes ma'am." The entire bridge crew responded, waiting five seconds until Meyrin's eyes popped somewhat.

"Incoming orders from Fleet Command Headquarters."

"Orders?" Arthur turned to face the red head.

"What are they?" Talia did the same.

"We're to change course and proceed to a set of designated coordinates immediately. They look to be to the south of Berlin." Meyrin informed.

"What for? And is there anything else attached to those orders?" Talia asked, causing Meyrin to shake her head horizontally.

"That's a negative. They're not telling us why right now." These words caused Talia to place her hand on her chin again.

"Alright then, patch them through to the helm. Malik, and change course once you know where we're going. Arthur, you have the bridge but be sure to notify me if anything comes up. I'm heading to my Cabin right now. I'm sure HQ will want to know about the acquisition of the Gaia, as well as it's pilot which we've brought aboard, among other things." Captain Talia Gladys stated, quietly standing out of her seat of power and adjusting her hat before walking off of the bridge, the helmsmen gently turning the ship's controls to turn and roll the vessel to it's port.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Captains Quarters of the LHM-BB01 Minerva:

The blonde haired women who served as the vessel's commanding officer sat in her chair in front of the computer monitor on her desk, having had just finished writing a quick report to the higher ups regarding the events that transpired in Zagreb. She had no doubt in her mind that she would face scrutiny from other individuals in Zaft, like Kendan Westenfluss for example, who would just _love _to point out her 'flaw' in annihilating half of the entire city she was sent do defend in order to destroy the machine tasks with killing it, and its inhabitants, in their entirety. Regardless of this, she would stand her ground when the time came. However just as she was preparing to power down her computer, a beeping sound blasted from the door's speakers, indicating that there was someone on the other side.

"Yes. Who is it?" She pondered.

"It's Shinn. You told me to get some rest, but I need to talk to you first beforehand, Captain." The voice of the Impulse's pilot caused the Captain to raise her right eyebrow.

"Very well then." She answered, causing him to open the door and make his way inside, the two saluting each other. "Sit down... tell me what's bothering you." She ordered, receiving Shinn's absolute obedience.

"It's... that girl, and her suit. You just send me a message telling me to retrieve the Gaia out of nowhere... why?" The black eyed teen questioned as Talia typed away at her computer for a couple minutes and then turned the screen so that Shinn could see what was on it.

"That's why..." On the screen Shinn eyed the message that was there. Orders from Headquarters ordering the Minerva to attempt to capture the Gaia should it ever encounter that mobile suit being deployed again. "I was given these orders when we entered Port Turkius not too long ago. At first I was rather reluctant, knowing the name of that suit's new 'mothership', but in the time of confusement we were in at the end of that battle, I figured it would be our best chance. That, and I couldn't help but notice the Gaia just drop out of the sky like it's pilot had lost control. Which brings me to your next question: You're worried about her, are you not? After all, she is one of 'them'." Talia spoke coldly, looking into Shinn's eyes.

'Well, it makes sense for the higher ups to want to bring back one of our old machines like that... after all it was stolen...' He thought before responding. "Yeah, I'm worried about her. I think she might be dying right now because of the 'word' used on her, and I know that we have the necessary information that can be used to save her... even cure her so she doesn't have to endure having a block word used on her again. The question is... are we going to save her? I don't think she deserves to die... Captain I look at her and I see an innocent who should be protected..." Shinn explained, lowering his head somewhat as Talia leaned back a little and straightened her back completely.

"I understand, Shinn. You don't want to see her suffer, considering what you've seen already during this war. But I must disappoint you..." She tried to say as Shinn spontaneously stood up and planted both of his hands on the table.

"YOU'RE GOING TO LET HER DIE?!" He questioned, his entire voice filled with sorrow, anger and frustration.

"SHINN ASUKA. CALM DOWN. **NOW!**" Talia yelled from her seat, staring into his red eyes straight on and unflinching in her position, yet Shinn held his own ground. "I did not say I was just going to let her die, now kill your presumptions this instant!" She snapped, her first twelve words creating a slight sign of relief in him and allowing him to breath easily once more as he took a seat back down.

"I'm... sorry..."

"As I said I understand your desire to see her safe, but I am not in the position to authorize the doctor to completely cure that girl of her condition until I get a response from the Supreme Council regarding the matter." He looked as if he was going to jump again. "_However _I have ordered the doctor to make sure she is no longer suffering from her 'block word' illness or whatever you want to call it. She won't die, but she'll still be vulnerable, alright. You've got nothing to worry about unless the council decides otherwise, and if they do..." She shook her head before tilting it to one side in regret. "Well then you're out of luck, there will be nothing I can do past that point.

"But how could they do something other than..." Shinn protested.

"I don't know I'm not Chairman Durandal and I'm not the rest of the Council body alright!" She quickly silenced him, causing Shinn to grumble to himself in the face of his superior. "Now, she'll be healthy for the time being. The council knows of this and will deal with it accordingly. As it stands the Minerva is headed to our next set of coordinates given by Headquarters and we've detected nothing on radar that would indicate that we're in danger. Now, I told you to get some rest after you got back on the ship and twenty minutes is not sufficient in my mind. So head back to your quarters and get some shut eye before I need to outright order you too, alright?" Gladys commanded, Shinn getting out of his seat a second later and walking off as he did.

"Alright, I understand, Captain Gladys." He replied in a cold, partially bitter tone before leaving the cabin.

'I'm sorry, Shinn, but there's only so much I can do.' Talia thought to herself.

* * *

Office of the Supreme Council Chairman of the PLANTs:

Gilbert Durandal and Kendan Westenfluss were both sitting across from each other at Durandal's 'coffee table' where he talked to Athrun earlier on before the Red Knight chose to return to Zaft. However there seemed to be nothing between the two on the table itself, and it looked as if the Chairman was briefing Kendan.

"Very well then, with all this in mind I'll put you on the next high speed shuttle down to Carpentaria as soon as possible." The Chairman spoke.

"Indeed. This is one opportunity that we shouldn't pass up on..." Kendan chuckled slightly. "Although I must thank Gladys for the information she sent us in that report. With it we may finally have a chance to strike at one of our oldest and most powerful enemies while she's vulnerable, and caught out in the open with no one to save her. Yes... a certain dove will be shot out of the sky very soon should this all go according to plan." He clenched his fists somewhat before standing and walking towards the door at a leisurely pace, turning around to face the long, dark haired Durandal before he left. "I have one question though: What of the four pilots that were taken from the Minerva? Heine, Athrun, Rey and that Lunamaria girl... will they be sent down with me?" He asked inquisitively, causing Durandal to shake his head negatively.

"Unfortunately not, Westenfluss. From what I've heard Integrated is still in the final stages of preparing their new machines and they're not ready yet. However I don't think you should be having that much of a problem with what I'm sending your way. The two Comptons that you'll be commanding, as well as... the Minerva itself and the Impulse gundam." Durandal spoke, a sharpness in the last part of his statement.

"I have no doubts that 'Captain' Gladys will play along according to plan and listen to my orders." Kendan spoke sarcastically. "However I would be much more comfortable if my son or Athrun Zala were piloting the Impulse, not that ex-ORB Union brat you've assigned to it."

"Admiral..." Durandal sighed. "You haven't seen Shinn Asuka in that much action... I have, and I must say his skills are impressive to say the least. In fact I see him as one of the strongest pilots we've ever had, even taking into account his attitude. If I were to tell him that he was not piloting the machine I personally assigned to him in a mission like this... well then let's just say there's a high chance that the boy may lose faith in us... and that is the last thing I want to happen, regardless of what soldier is in question."

"Well then we'll see what happens on the battlefield. It'll be life or death for that punk, considering the opponent he'll most likely be clashing swords against." Kendan finished, leaving the room as Durandal stood up and quietly motioned towards his desk, sitting down at it and looking at the computer.

'My my my... isn't this interesting. So Talia manages to take care of the problem we were facing in Eurasia... but at the same time ends up wiping out a large chunk of Zagreb in the process. I'm sure I'll have to talk about that with her later but her reasons are probably sound... I have faith in her. At the same time during the chaos that was going on Shinn managed to take hold of the Gaia and it's pilot... again, I'll deal with that later. However... the final piece of the message... that the Archangel is headed west for some reason rather than retreating south and rejoining the rest of the ORB fleet... what could prompt something like this to occur? No matter, if she wants to go out on her own then she'll suffer the price.' The Chairman's fists tightened somewhat. 'However that leaves me in a predicament.' He quickly typed away at his computer and before too long a picture of both Princess Cagalli Yula Attha and Prince Kira Yamato showed up on the monitor, the two of them wearing their ORB Uniforms and appearing to be attending some kind of special event in their country, much to the Chairman's apathy. "According to theory I need both of these two in order for the plan to work at 100% efficiency, but if Westenfluss and Gladys are successful they might not be around... decisions... decisions..." He leaned back in his chair. "I guess if worse comes to worse there's probably information on their genetic codes... or something like that in an ORB data bank... there has to be, and this is an opportunity far too ripe for the taking to pass up on. I'll just have to wait and see for myself... however in the wake of the Alliance's attack I think it's time for the world to receive a little wake up call..." Durandal spoke softly to himself, continuing his work soon after. 'Or perhaps I'll just change the objective of the upcoming operation to allow for mercy...' He thought while typing

* * *

Minerva sick bay, four hours after Shinn talks with Captain Gladys:

The automated doors parted themselves as a certain Zaft red suit made his way inside the room, scanning the area for two people: The doctor, and more specifically, Stella Loussier. Finding the blonde girl sleeping in one of the beds, her limbs bound by leather straps, Shinn quickly made his way to her side, but found himself being warned by another figure in the room.

"I wouldn't bother her right now, Shinn. She's tired, and she needs her rest right now, above all else." The doctor informed as the black haired child turned to face him.

"I know... I was just coming to check on her... that's all." Shinn replied, turning to face the doctor as Stella remained silent, lightly breathing in and out. After a few or so seconds of silence the Impulse's pilot turned back to Stella and looked right at her. Her short blonde hair, her small frame, her just... innocent and pure looking body. How could those Alliance bastards do this to her? That was something Shinn wondered, deep down in his heart. Didn't matter now though, for she was 'safe' or at least appeared to be.

"I understand your worry, but let me inform you that I have carried out the Captain's orders to ensure that our 'guest' does not die on us. I've been keeping one eye on her vital signs and I'd say my mood reflects her overall state of being." The doctor crossed his arms, speaking in a very cool, calm, and collected voice that reflected a man in control as Shinn turned his attention back to him.

"I see. Tell me, doctor... if for instance... you were permitted to completely cure Stella of her Extended conditioning... could you? Considering what you have at your disposal?" He asked.

"Easily. Although, from what I've been told you've been told... I would need to be permitted first. We probably won't get any news on what's going to happen to this girl until after our next assignment is complete. As to when that happens... I've no idea."

"I see..." Shinn knelt down besides the girl and caressed her scalp lightly, the doctor smiling at his admiration.

"You know, Shinn..." The doctor let out a slight chuckle. "There's something funny about this girl, actually, and I don't think it has anything to do with her being an 'Extended'." The doctor started to explain, taking a step closer to Shinn.

"Oh, and what's that?" He continued to focus his red eyed gaze upon her while the doctor straightened up, as if he was prepared to tell him something very serious.

"She has the same... genetic abnormality as you do, Shinn." Which snapped the young pilot's attention away from the girl as he looked at the older man with awe.

"What? Are you sure? What was it again... SEED mode... yes..." He jumped up. "The thing that only ORB has information on!" Shinn made a fist with his right hand.

"Hmm... yes indeed, Shinn. Although I looked through the data that we took from the Lodonia Laboratory and nothing the Alliance has seems to be related to it. So from what I can guess, this girl seems to have been living her entire life unaware of her powers... like you." The doctor explained, causing Shinn's eyes to widen somewhat at that, and creating a pause between the two males for a couple of seconds until the doctor began to walk away and speak. "Well, I'll let you think about what I told you. I have something that needs to get done in the meantime, so if you could watch over her for a bit... that would be splendid."

"Sure. No problem." Shinn eagerly responded, the doctor making his way towards the door.

"If anything goes wrong then just come get me in the mess hall. If I'm not there... I'll be back here." He left the sick bay, leaving Shinn alone with a sleeping Stella, the former turning back to face the ladder, kneeling down in front of her and just staring right into her.

"I guess... well I don't know what transpired between you and the Archangel crew if they let you modify the Gaia and then pilot it later... yeah that's probably what happened considering what Kira said to try to make that enemy pilot stop his rampage... going on about your happiness in life and such, and how he... he fell in love with you?" Shinn cocked an eyebrow somewhat, trying to figure out what happened when Stella slowly opened her eyes after hearing words so close to her.

"Ugh... Sh... Shinn?" She asked, turning her head towards him and looking at him right in the eyes, causing the young boy to be somewhat startled. "Wait... Shinn?"

"You know who I am? You remember?" He asked, moving just an inch closer to hear her soft, weak and resting voice while still giving her some space of her own.

"Yeah... you're... the one Stella saw on the beach with Cagalli... when we had our talk. And you're also... the pilot of that..." She messed around with her restraints, becoming clearly upset. "... That machine which has caused me so much trouble..." She growled, causing Shinn to back off a little and hold up his palms defensively, but still hold his stance from a distance.

"Yeah, I am... but it's okay now, Stella. I don't think I'll be causing you much trouble any longer. In fact... I mean to do the opposite... it's the least I can do considering what I've done to you... how I wronged you in the worst way possible." He told her, quickly remembering something from the previous battle that he had with the Destroy, and with Kira Yamato by his side as a temporary ally.

_"No you haven't. However at the same time I've wronged you in the worst way possible." _

'What did you mean, Kira? How have you... done something terrible to me?' Shinn thought to himself as Stella spoke again, her battle with the restraints subsiding.

"Stella remembers fighting with you in the Dardanelles... and then you..." Shinn's eyes popped and he began to move his right palm. "... told Stella to... _quop._" The young Extended girl made a weird sound before finding Shinn's palm covering her mouth, preventing her from saying that one critical word.

"Don't say it, Stella... that word can do you no good in your current state... please." He said, his tone frantic at first but then quickly calming after until he felt Stella lick the palm of his hand, and in his reflexes caused him to move his arm away in disgust as she giggled a little.

"Stella was going to say 'not live', but yes, Stella knows what you're talking about, and how Stella cannot hear that certain word." She explained as he nodded. "But after you said that... Stella freaked out... until Stella awoke... to Kira... Kira who is very close to Stella... wait, where is he now? Shinn... where is Kira? Go get him!" The volume of her voice increased as her speech reached its end.

"Kira's not here right now, Stella. I'm sorry." Shinn spoke humbly as Stella's eyes popped.

"WHAT? Why? Where is he?"

"On the Archangel... I think. You're not on that ship anymore, Stella. You're on the Minerva. You left and tried to calm down that... thing's pilot... and then you fainted, and the Gaia fell. It was then that I took you away before we destroyed that monster of a mobile suit." He explained as her eyes widened some more, a tear coming out of them.

"You... you guys... took Stella away from Kira?" Stella started to struggle again. "And you killed Auel in the process? WHY? WHY! WHY?! DID YOU DO THAT?" She raged, questioning the vessel's actions as Shinn closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, attempting to think of something to say in response and calm her down. He didn't want to have to go back and get the doctor this early and he liked having a private conversation with her... he had to think... and then he realized something that he brought from his room when he came here.

"Auel's gone... and Stella hasn't seen Sting? Neo... he didn't look too well when Stella saw him on the Archangel... and now Stella doesn't even have Kira anymore? NO!" She cried as Shinn held something in front of her face and she looked at it, her struggling ceasing to be an issue when she did.

"Do you remember this? It's a piece of the shell you gave me... back in Diocula. I kept it all this time... Stella... please... you're not on the Archangel anymore and you're not with Kira... but now you're in the hands of someone who can actually treat your illness... I know they tried but they probably failed... but we won't. We know what to do... so please... don't fight it." He tried to calm her down as she looked him straight in the eyes.

"Fine then... if that's the case... if you want to treat Stella's 'illness', even though you killed Auel, Sting... and Neo is gone and Stella can't see Kira... then... promise Stella one thing... ONE THING... Shinn..." She stated, her voice filled to the brim with emotions of sadness and torment.

"What's that... then... what do you want me to do? I nearly... hurt you so much that you would never be able to recover... so I owe you that much." Shinn asked.

"Protect Stella... keep Stella safe..." She sobbed, causing Shinn's eyes to widen.

'She's just... she's sick of being thrown around all these places in such a short period of time is that it? Is she sick of the constant uncertainty and side changes in her life? Well being a 'toy' for the Earth Alliance will probably do that to you... considering how they treat some people...' Shinn thought about the slaves the Alliance used to try to construct a base in Australia, clenching his fists tight before giving off a puff of resolve. "Fine then, Stella. I'll protect you... I promise." Shinn stated in a clear, decisive, and true voice at the worried, sick, and sad girl, her entire being loosening up with hope as she smiled, Shinn whipping the tears from her eyes for she could not before she spoke.

"That's... alright... considering Stella... considering..." She tried to reply.

"Considering you what?"

"Stella fears Shinn..."

"You... fear me... why?" He asked, receiving no answer as the girl in front of him remained quiet as a mouse. "I'm not going to put you in the Gaia and fight you again, Stella... you won't have to 'battle' me again, after all I said I would..."

"It's not that... Shinn..." Stella cut him off. "It's... did Kira tell you something about your family when you two fought Auel?" She asked, the constant bombardment of information from Stella, which was asking more questions that conceding answers had the raven haired pilot completely puzzled.

"What? No! And what would Kira know about my family? They perished in Ono'goro! And it was..." The red eyed boy attempted to state who he thought was responsible for the death of his family. However this attempt would be thwarted by the words of the restrained blonde, who knew otherwise...

"... Kira's fault..." Shinn's world turned upside down.

"No... you're joking... you have to be joking..."

"Stella isn't joking..." She said bluntly, and as he did... his eyes began to anger somewhat, and a certain memory, a bad memory, the memory of when he lost everything began to play in his mind. "He said it was an accident..." His eyelids closed somewhat. "... or something like that..." Shinn gave out an angry huff, trying to control himself. "... and he told Stella that he wanted to tell you about what happened when he could... but he didn't..." He stood up, and quickly placed his hands on the sides of his face, staring up at the roof.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**" Shinn let out a powerful roar of anger and hatred, causing Stella to close her eyes, scared of his reaction.

'It's just... Kira said he wanted to tell the truth to Shinn... he said he had to tell Shinn... to make himself feel right... so Stella thought she would tell you for Kira... because he's not here... Stella's sorry, Shinn...' The girl thought, afraid of his next reaction.

"I... he told you... I... I can't believe it... all this time... I thought he was an ally in the making... but now... he's the one responsible..." Shinn huffed and puffed, his tone incredibly hostile. 'He said he was in love with her and she said that he's close to him... so if she's telling me this there's a good chance that it is... if that's the case... dammit! Did he trick me? Is that it? Is that really it?' Shinn thought to himself, the memories of the times he spent with Kira flashing before his eyes. On board the Minerva while he was insulting Cagalli, at Junius Seven, on the Archangel afterwords, at Diocula... he had grown somewhat close to Kira. In fact he thought that if both of them were still alive at the end of the war there was a chance for them to become friends... however another memory flashed in his eyes. 'That day...' He thought visibly, remembering the final moments of his family's life, when they were running for their lives to seek safety, and there were several mobile suits in the air, engaged in a fierce battle against each other... there was one of them that stood out above all the others though. 'The Freedom...' In Shinn's mind he saw an image of the ZGMF-X10A Freedom that he knew Kira had fought in during the first war and that he very well knew what it looked like. 'He may not pilot it anymore...' The image of the white gundam with blue wings began to change in Shinn's head, becoming darker. The wings becoming thinner and the entire body taking on a new shape: The Strike Noir, Kira's current unit. 'But that doesn't mean he can wipe away the guilt...' A tear fell from Shinn's right eye onto the floor beneath him. 'He'll pay...' The red in Shinn's eyes began to fill with many small tears of rage, sadness, and a desire for revenge. "I'll kill him... for what he did." Shinn spoke, his voice cold, focuses, filled with a goal in mind.

"No... Shinn... Kira didn't mean to..." Stella tried to explain, causing Shinn to snap back at her.

"I doubt it, Stella! And even if it was an accident then that doesn't excuse the fact that he did it!" Shinn raised his raging, irrational voice, causing the girl to tilt her head away in fear.

"No... Shinn! Please... Kira's... Kira's... Kira's special..."

"I don't care if he's special to you, Stella! He isn't special to me! Unless special means 'soon to leave this world'!" The red eyed boy turned away and faced the door. "If you want me to protect you, then I'll do that! That's my promise... to YOU! But I can't say the same about 'Kira Yamato' after what you just told me." He moved towards the door, angrily stomping his feet on the ground as he did. "The doctor will be here soon to check up on you. I'm going back to my room for now." His voice seemed to be on the verge or erupting with an anger and fury like no other, but seemed to be held back as he walked out of the sick bay, leaving Stella alone.

"Shinn... please don't... make Kira..." A tear formed in the blonde's eye as she looked towards the now closed door. 'Die...' She thought to herself, but did not speak, knowing the consequences for if she did.

* * *

Later that evening, on the Archangel:

The great white and red vessel is nearly indistinguishable from the pure, frozen snow as she sat at the foot of one of the mountain's in the Alps, south of the border that once belonged to the country of Germany before all the nations in the region came together and formed the Eurasian Federation. At this point in time the ship was using the weather to camouflage itself, and although small bits and pieces of the hull could be distinguished, one would probably need to be very close to the vessel in order to realize just what exactly was right in front of them. At the same time though the crew was getting restless, and a certain blond princess was getting disgruntled over the ship's decision to make a stop.

"I still think we should make our way towards the sea right now... with all the Zaft forces in this region I don't think I'll be able to sleep with ease tonight, Captain Ramius." Cagalli stated in a voice that indicated that her body might spontaneously breakout with wort's of worry, the Chief Representative and Captain making their way through the Archangel's halls.

"I understand your concern, but right now the area we've taken refuge in isn't completely controlled by Zaft, but we've managed to detect two AWACS DINNs flying overhead in this region just a couple hours ago. The first one had me a bit shocked and then once the second one came around I was a little more paranoid. Once the radars confirmed that it had flown far enough away I gave the order to set the ship down, cut the engines and radar transmissions and just play dead. With a small amount of luck we'll be undetectable. You also have to consider the rest of the information Captain Todaka gave us about the Fleet's movement." Murrue explained, causing Cagalli to groan in angered understanding.

"Yes. At first that pilot just told us to head west but once he got on board he explained the situation in greater detail. The Takemikazuchi and the rest of our forces have to hope that they get out of the Adriatic Sea undetected before setting sail to the supposed Rendezvous point off of Corsica, and that we should wait until at least tomorrow morning at around noon before we even think of heading out to meet them, just to be sure everything's clear." Cagalli confessed, lowering his head and golden mane somewhat.

"You know Captain Todaka would rather fight against the Alliance then have you be captured by them, right?" Murrue asked, her voice lightened somewhat to account for Cagalli's mood.

"Yeah, I know. It's just..." Cagalli slammed her left fist against the wall. "You know how I don't like to sit around and do nothing, right!" She finished as a third voice entered the conversation.

"I know, Cagalli, but right now I think waiting this out and then traveling by morning would be the best option. Besides Zaft had their military deployed in Eurasia while that monster was roaming around and I think right now they'll probably be more concerned with humanitarian operations and re-establishing their hold over parts of the neighboring regions, especially if we make it seem like we're not here anymore." Another voice, masculine in it's nature said as it walked up behind the short blonde and long brunette.

"Kira..." Cagalli spoke, turning to face her brother as he walked up to her. While the Ultimate Coordinator seemed to be in a good mood there was something off about him at this point in time, and Cagalli could see it in his eyes, on his very being.

"If anything I'd like to check on the pilot we brought aboard. I just talked to Mr. Murdoch and he said that the remains of his Windam could be used as small scrap pieces... but little more." Kira explained.

"Agreed. The doctor told me that he should be awake by now, considering the condition he was in." Murrue informed, the twins nodding as the three of them headed towards the ship's sick bay.

"What's his condition?" The Captain asked as the three of them stepped inside the room and looked around, the man with long black hair and a scar on his face lying on one of the beds nearby.

The doctor shook his head. "He doesn't have that much time left. The impact did him in, and he... requested that I keep him alive long enough so that he could speak with you... Princess." The doctor spoke, a hint of depression and failure in his voice as he said what he needed to say. "I'm sorry... there's nothing more I can do..."

"I blame the Alliance for making crude mobile suit cockpits that can't take a hit..." Kira added, his tone utterly neutral.

"Come... here..." A low and very weak voice requested as Cagalli turned her attention towards Neo and slowly made her way towards him. "You... fought... excellently... out there..." He muttered before coughing greatly, clearly in pain.

"I killed you." She said angrily, about to roar with her Lioness anger as she stomped the floor somewhat with her right foot.

"Indeed you did, but I didn't expect to live beyond that battle... it was an honor to face the Warrior Princess in combat... and hope that by the end of... this war the true enemy of mankind... faces your blade..." He tried to smile. At the same time Cagalli was looking at him, something seemed to click inside her head.

"Wait... you... why do you look..."

"Like Chairman Dur... Durandal?" Neo chuckled a little, coughing a second later. "That's because I'm... I'm his younger brother." He stated, the eyelids of everyone else in the room gaining distance from each other at the sound of those words.

"No... you're... you're joking. How would an Earth Alliance soldier be the brother the leader of the faction that they're trying to completely wipe out? How does that make any sense?" Cagalli asked as Neo narrowed his weak eyes.

"Your doctor... has... my DNA... have him cross... it with... Durandal's..." Neo coughed, the urgency in head huff getting greater and more violent.

'Well after all the leaders of the PLANTs did make a decision a while back to make their genetic information available to the governments of other nations... and urged us to do the same but most refused...' Cagalli thought, turning to face the doctor and giving an approving gesture before facing Neo again. "Alright then, let's assume you are Chairman Durandal's sibling. If that's the case then by all means... what exactly do you have to tell me then? Chose your words wisely, considering I've been told these are your final moments..." Cagalli bitterly requested, only to have Neo begin to cough even more, and with greater volume then he had in the past, a small bit of blood coming out of his mouth at the same time.

"I... intend to..." He began, the Princess focusing her attention on him, with Kira and Murrue in the background. "There is a... data disk that I brought with me... it survived the crash and I gave it to your doctor... so that he could give it to you... you must look at it immediately... and see what it entails..." He coughed up some more blood. "Because while... my brother may look like his intentions... are clear and good... there's something lurking behind it all... a plan... to change the world... for the worse I'd say..."

"And what is this 'plan' you speak of?" She questioned, crossing her arms inquisitively.

"Hehe... wanting information right now... a good leader... to make informed decisions." He tried to laugh as she continued to look at him with a stone face. "Alright... it's all explained on the disk... just be... sure that... be sure..." Neo eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, more crimson liquid being thrust from his throat. Clearly the man was in his final moments right now. 'I have to express this with emphasis...' He thought, trying to speak once more. "You two..." He looked at Kira and Cagalli. "Make it to the Mendel Colony... and discover... discover..." He made another, greater, sicker cough. "A greater truth about yourselves..." His voice was that of a man being chocked to death as he spoke those last five words, the air escaping him as his head turned to the side and hit the mattress of the bed, his eyes closing and chest ceasing to expand and contract as the sound of the electrocardiograph, which everyone had simply cataloged as white noise due to it's dull beeping sound every second, began to make one continuous beep as the man 'known as Neo Roanoke' to Stella, or 'Durandal's brother' to the Archangel crew, died.

"By Haumae..." Cagalli stated in a very soft voice before turning around to see Kira and Murrue as they stood in front of her now.

"The... the Mendel Colony?" Kira cocked an eyebrow. "But we were there last war? Maybe he thought we never went there... or perhaps... there's something else?" He asked.

"I don't know... right now going up into space is not an option though... but what about this disk he wanted me to watch... what about it?" Cagalli turned to the doctor, only to see him already facing her with his hand extended, a well made container for a data disk, meant to survive the turbulence of battle in his hand as he presented himself with a slight frown.

"This... and yes... I just crossed him with the 'beloved Chairman's' data... he's related... thank the PLANTs for making that information available." He once again explained with a melancholy ring, receiving that feeling that all doctors get when they're patient dies on them.

"Alright... thank you..." Cagalli took the container from the doctor. "Put him in the ship's Morgue... we'll send him out to sea once we meet up with the fleet... should what he wants to tell us about be true... then I guess it's appropriate for him to have a proper burial." She turned to the Captain. "Alright... I want to see just what this is so important about... your office." She commanded, a somewhat angry expression on her face as the three of them proceeded make their way towards the exit of the Archangel's sick bay, the looks on their faces not ones of joy or happiness, but ones of sorrow, when out of nowhere the ship's intercom came online, Waltfeld's voice on the line.

"This is a ship wide message addressed at Lady Cagalli and Lieutenant Commander Kira... I think you two had better head towards the nearest television set... something big is about to happen..." Waltfeld announced neutrally.

"What. Is. It. Now?" Cagalli questioned, tightening her grip on the case with Neo's disk.

"It can't be good... let's go." Kira grumbled, Murrue making a nod and 'hmm' sound as she did.

* * *

Aprilius One:

Chairman Gilbert Durandal sat in his office with his hands clasped together, a serious expression being expressed on his face as a television crew filmed him.

'And now... is the moment of truth...' Durandal thought, taking in a deep, calm breath before beginning his speech. "I would like to inform each and everyone of you something very special... something very important. Allow me to explain why this war has not yet come to an end. The true reason why we once again found ourselves at war in the first place. I'm certain most of you do not know the real reasons, because it is not the policy of most nations to reveal this information." The Chairman stopped speaking as images of the Destroy rampaging throughout Slavic Eurasia were displayed. The sounds that innocent people were making where extremely loud, as if the volume had been adjusted to show the suffering of those humans as the Destroy killed them. All around the Earth sphere, people dropped their jaws as they saw this imagery; this horror.

"No way..." Some school girls said in a low tone.

"What the hell is this? How... disgusting!" Some people at a random restaurant said.

"These images were taken a few days ago as the Alliance's new super weapon emerged from central Eurasia. This machine advanced westward and destroyed whole cities." The Chairman of the PLANTs went on.

* * *

"WHAT IS HE DOING?" Lord Djibril freaked out from his lair.

"This weapon of mass destruction attacked without warning. It wiped out several cities and killed millions of innocent people." Durandal said.

"CUT HIM OFF! DAMMIT! CUT HIM OFF BEFORE I CUT YOU OFF!" Djibril yelled into a microphone.

"As soon as we became aware of it Zaft forces engaged the weapon in battle." Durandal said, displaying images of the Zaft mass production models attacking. Footage of the Minerva, but not the Archangel and it's mobile suits could also be seen.

"INTERCEPT THE LINK DAMMIT!" Djibril raged.

"Although many lives were lost, we did manage to stop it, but at a price. You must all be aware that the cities of Earth were attacked... by the Earth Forces... Why did this happen? The Alliance declared it's goal to be the liberation of the region, but does this look like liberation?" Durandal added as images of the Savior and Impulse were shown in the town next to the Gulnahan Power Plant, as well as images of Zaft soldiers peaceful talking with the people of Diocula. "The burning of entire cities along with their citizens? It is true that we disapprove of the Alliance's policies. For humanitarian reasons we have supported those seeking independence from Eurasia, one of the Alliance's member nations. We have supported those who want an end to this seemingly perpetual warfare... we want to help those who wise to return to a live of normalcy. They no longer wish to fight. All that they desire is to live in peace with their loved ones. Is that too much to ask for? Is it? If so, then why?" Durandal said as images of the cities destroyed by the Destroy were displayed and refugees spoke out.

"MOMMY! WHERE'S MY MOMMY?"

"THAT MONSTER DESTROYED... EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING IN IT'S PATH! IT DESTROYED OUR LIVES!"

"OUR ENEMY IS THE ALLIANCE! ZAFT IS THE ONE WHO SAVED US! THEY STOOD UP AGAINST THAT THING!"

"The Alliance scorned our desire for peace. It turned its attention towards the citizens of central Eurasia who cooperated with us. Who chose the path of peace over a world filled with violence. The Alliance passed judgment, denounced these innocent people as traitors and then burned them in their homes. Women, children, there was no discrimination." Durandal informed.

"Cut. Him. Off. Stop that broadcast or else I will... urghh... CUT THAT BROADCAST, NOW!" Djibril said in an enraged tone. Unfortunately for the CEO of Adukurf-Mechano Industries, his fellow Logos members would soon criticize him.

"Djibril, do you have an explanation for this?"

"This is your problem now deal with it."

"Where is Durandal going with this?"

Durandal clenched his fists and put on his angry face.

"Why? Why is peace not permitted?" He stood up and looking into the camera with an even angrier look. "Who said that you must fight no matter what? Who did this? What authority did they have? Why can't they let us live together, hand in hand, in peace!" Durandal ranted as Athrun Zala, who was still using the same equipment as he used before, which allowed him to walk, approached Chairman Durandal, with Lacus Clyne at his side.

"Its an irrefutable fact that this war was started with a single act, one that was caused by a few coordinators. We will never forget that we were unable to prevent it, or the many tragedies that resulted from that terrible event." Athrun said.

"For those affected, there will never be an end to the suffering and sorrow they have experienced. And yet... it was so traumatic. Events such as that could not help but trigger a war. However, we cannot allow things to continue as they are now. Peace and decency is lost in this battle. This hatred only brings suffering. Haven't we seen enough of it? Raise your eyes and wipe away your tears... look away with hope. Cry out your sadness but when you're done listen to what the other side has to say. Find that a world with light and kindness... a world completely devoid of war awaits us... but we need to be the ones who get there..." Lacus said.

"I think I can safely say it is the desire of people everywhere to end war... as the child of the man who saw war as a way to achieve his own genocidal desires... huh... I was ashamed of my father, and his followers. But WE CAN CHANGE THAT!" Athrun yelled.

"However there have always been those who would prevent such harmony that the two of you speak of at any cost. They've been with us since antiquity. They have demanded that people fight because of the profits that can be achieved..." Durandal informed.

* * *

"This is getting... interesting..." Cagalli spoke from the Captain's quarters. "Chairman Durandal... what are you going to do?"

"They are the ones who generate war. You're a coward if you don't fight, and you're a traitor if you don't follow orders. They use these words when they hand you your weapon and tell you to attack the 'other side'. That's what they say when they invent enemies out of nothing. The last thing they desire is peace. It is true that it is these people who are behind the latest tragedy in Western Eurasia." The Supreme Council Chairman went on.

* * *

"DJIBRIL!" A Logos member said in an extreme tone.

"SHUT IT DOWN! CUT THE LINK ALREADY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" The man in the yellow outfit yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Meow..." Paladin said as he jumped away from his master, scared.

"The organization known as Blue Cosmos is well known. They detest coordinators and refer to them as dangerous mistakes who shouldn't exist. However, what you don't know is that it was invented by these same people. These individuals hide in the shadows... they're constantly inventing new enemies... ensuring war is always raging, somewhere. The merchants of death. The military complex known as Logos. They are the true enemies of anyone who desires peace." Durandal said as the images and profiles of many old and wealthy looking me, including Lord Djibril, flashed through the screen, for the entire world to see.

"NO! NO! DAMMIT YOU FAILURES!" Djibril screamed.

"From the bottom of my heart I ask for a world without war. And therefore, I now call for the destruction of Logos. With that I now announce a military campaign with the specific goal of eliminating Logos and all of it's members!" Durandal finished his broadcast, the line of television being cut, leaving all who watched in shock.

* * *

"A... a campaign? AN ALL OUT CAMPAIGN?" Cagalli shook her head. "This is... this spells trouble..."

"No... Cagalli... look..." Kira said with stern, but shocked look as the screen started to show people cheering 'Durandal!' throughout the entire world.

"He may have the entire world, or a lot of it nearly wrapped around his finger now. This is not good, should he actually have greater intentions beyond this point." Murrue sighed.

"All the more reason why I need to see what is on this special thing..." The Princess announced scornfully, opening the case up and taking the disk out of it before placing it in Murrue's computer. "Now, let's just see what the hell is this all about. That man leads a force consisting of a large, powerful and extremely dangerous mobile suit and wipes a couple of cities off of the map and several million people along with it... and then he survives only to give me some 'important data'? And to top it off he's actually related to Gilbert Durandal? This had better be _damn _good!" Cagalli growled furiously as the machine started to automatically play whatever was on the disc, and soon a picture of Neo Roanoke, the man with long black hair and a scar on his face appeared.

"Greetings Princess Cagalli Yula Attha of ORB, I am Oscar Durandal, the little brother of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal. I am also called Neo Roanoke... and I have something important to tell you this day... Something very important..." Oscar said.

"On with it..." Cagalli rotated her arms, clearly annoyed and impatient.

"I know, this may come as a surprise to you. However, looking at me, you can tell I look like old Gilbert..."

"We already ran your DNA..." Murrue grumbled quietly to herself.

"If you're watching this video right now it means that you got this disk from me personally, although that doesn't mean that I myself am still alive." The image of Oscar Durandal explained as Kira crossed his arms. "Now, onto business... Princess you may be wondering why I have decided to send this message to you, and although you may have a positive opinion of my older brother, that will soon change, should I be successful in convincing you. The reason why I have given you this information is because Gilbert Durandal is a dreamer and a revolutionary at heart and because of that he needs to be stopped at all costs, or else the world may fall into darkness forever. You may recall the... how can I say this... many times that my brother has either spouted about the ridiculous idea that he wants to end war forever. If he hasn't said it himself, he's had the annoying pop singer Lacus Clyne say it for him." Kira groaned somewhat. "Now, if you pay close attention to his speeches you'll realize that he NEVER actually explains how he intends to 'end war forever', only that he wants to do it. The reason is for him, the ends justify the means. He knows this... and he knows that to end war forever he will have to subdue humanity. He will need to bend over the collective will of the human race like a police officer presses a criminal against his car and then arrests it, makes it stand trial, and then throws it in prison for the rest of it's life. As his brother I will say that he has too big of an ambition and now that he's in power he will try to put that ambition to reality. This cannot be allowed to happen."

"Get to the point, Oscar." Cagalli groaned, blatantly upset.

"Now, the reason why Gilbert Durandal is trying to end war forever is two fold. One: He thinks it's possible. Two: He's an idealist who doesn't understand human nature nor the concept of nature vs. nurture. Okay... I've gone on long enough. Here's what he's going to try to do: It's called the Destiny Plan. What he plans to do is to assign a newborn person their role in life, their occupation, their place of living, and to some extent, who they will live with, all based upon their genetic code. For example, if someone is born with genes that would make them a good teacher, they will become a teacher, and they would have no choice in this matter, even if they would not want to be a teacher. Although this is cruel, unjust, and a blatant violation of every freedom that mankind as worked at for the entirety of it's existence, he justifies it under the notion that if everyone has no choice and that choice is made for them, people will never be upset and therefore war will never break out again. He fails to realize however that people will not be happy with their lives this way because even though it is true that genes do set certain parameters on what defines a human being, whether it be their eye color or even their personality, their life experiences play a huge role in this as well. If that wasn't bad enough, he plans to force every pregnant women to undergo an operation that will change the genetic structure of their fetus into that of an Ultimate Coordinator. Princess Cagalli, your brother is the Ultimate Coordinator, his genes were modified in an artificial womb because of the nature of the natural womb of a female human." He explained, causing Kira to flip his lid.

"WHAT? HE CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THAT'S... BARBARIC!" He yelled, causing Murrue and Cagalli to look at him yet remain quiet, knowing of just how upsetting something like would probably be to Kira.

"Now I'm not sure as to what something like that could do to the mother if they try to force her body to accept the heavily modified fetus, but for all we know it could potentially kill her. Gilbert wouldn't care though, if it leads him to his war-less society one day, he's fine with it. You might be asking me why I know this... it's because I'm his brother and we spent a lot of time together when we were siblings before we grew up. Even then, he always spoke of how he hated the idea of war and wanted to end it, no matter the cost. When we got older, he began to develop theories as to how to end war, and they... frightened me. One day, I confronted him, and told him how insane he was and how he needed to cleanse his head of all the thoughts that he had birthed in his mind. It was the day I would be leaving the PLANTs and going to Earth. Needless to say he didn't take to kindly to my words and well..." The picture of Neo points to the scar on his face. "You can guess how things went."

"Is he for real? I don't see Chairman Durandal as a person who would bring himself to do something like that." Cagalli questioned.

"Regardless... you don't need to worry about me. Now, since you're probably asking yourself how you could possibly ever grow to like that man who is my brother, let me just say that he has a way with words... he's a very good talker, and ways was the highest mark in his class when it came to speeches and essays, so don't underestimate him."

"I'll give him that though..." Murrue went on.

"That's besides the point though, and the point is why I'm telling you this, despite the fact that I am technically a soldier of the Earth Alliance. The reason is simple: As far as I'm concerned ORB is the only nation that can stop him properly; the one entity that truly stands in his way. Your nation is the most technologically advanced on Earth, and has a sizable army that is incredibly well trained. In addition to this, they have you. By allowing a coordinator to be your personal bodyguard for a while and due to the fact that you respect your brother, I can guess that you are tolerant of coordinators. You are not like the leaders of the Earth Alliance; you are not some racist who is controlled by corporate fascists. Believe me when I say this, the leaders of the Eurasian and Atlantic Federation are in bed with the CEO's of many major corporations on Earth, as are those idiot Seirans in ORB. Now you may be asking why I am exactly a soldier in the Earth Alliance and why I was leading the Destroy mission.

I am in the Earth Alliance because I needed to figure out for myself if the people who control that entity behind the scenes would could possibly be convinced of the truth about my brother. After all, even though the Earth Alliance is more based on quantity than quality, they are rather powerful, and if the time came where they stopped throwing half of their weapons away to Neutron Stampeders while attempting to destroy the PLANTs, I bet they could defeat them in a straight up war. What I actually found out is that the Earth Alliance is controlled by a bunch of corporate CEO's in addition to people like the President of the Atlantic Federation and the Chancellor of Eurasia, and that Blue Cosmos is inseparable from the Alliance. With that in mind, I figured that even if the leaders could believe the truth about Durandal, they would want to destroy all coordinators in addition to stopping my brother's plan, and knowing of the Ultimate Coordinator project and Gilbert Durandal's ambitions about it, they would use that information to try to convince the world that genetic engineering is terrible and that would be a step back for humanity, a step back that would take a long time to heal before we could step forward again. However, when I realized that I had chosen the wrong side, it was too late. I lead the mission commanding the team with the Destroy for two reasons: The first being that I knew you would come and try to stop us, and the second reason being that somebody needed to have Auel stop his maddening rampage, before he killed even more innocent people and gave my brother fuel to use in his propaganda. Trust me, if I know my brother he will see the assault by the Destroy as the perfect time to reveal the men behind both Blue Cosmos and this war itself. I would not be surprised if the PLANTs issue an emergency broadcast to the entire world in short time."

"Right on time." Murrue whispered silently.

"He just did..." Kira did the same.

"When he does that the people of the world will be outraged and will side with Durandal. When that happens he will seize this opportunity to try to take the world over, end the war, and install the Destiny Plan on humanity. However, you can stop him. With the information I have given you, you could possibly halt his plans. If you go back to ORB and take control of your nation... and put up a fight... you might have a chance I think. Anyway... enough of my rabble. I've told you all that I can. Princess Cagalli Yula Attha of the ORB Union... I BEG you to do everything in your power to stop Gilbert Durandal and stop the Destiny Plan. However I must tell you not to give this information to the nearest news station. Should the people of Earth hear of this, chaos will ensue, and very quickly. A fight will break out between the believers and the doubters and the people who agree with the Destiny Plan and the people who do not. So do what you must do to stop my brother, but... don't cause global panic!" Oscar stopped talking for a second as Cagalli simply shook his head. "Oh, and one more thing. This is more or less something for Stella and possibly Auel, should he be living."

'Stella's gone...' Kira began to feel himself slowly get overtaken with sadness and a hint of anger.

"My role has changed from now on, should I be alive. If I am, then I hope to speak to you shortly. If' I'm not... well then... listen to the rest of this message." He stated mournfully. "When I was assigned the mission I accepted the fact that my time on Earth may in fact come to a close soon. However, I didn't care. I didn't care if I died if it meant this information could be delivered to the leader of the nation that could stop my brother while at the same time not going to far in their own genocidal ambition. I ask both of you to do something for me: I want you to continue living the remainder of your life as best you can and do what you wish to do with your life from now on.

You born and raised to be human machines meant for killing... in a sense, one could say that my brother's Destiny Plan has already been put partially into practice in a way, and the ones who were heavily modified, given no choice in life and then told how to live were you and the rest of the Alliance's Extendeds... the rest of your siblings. Do you really want to have to go back to a lifestyle that is based upon a similar concept of biological dictatorship, or would you rather enjoy your newly found freedom in life? Honestly, Stella, I think it was actually a blessing that you were captured by the Archangel that one fateful day, because it meant you had a chance at freedom, a chance that you would not get by being with the Earth Alliance as an Extended. I hope you are enjoying your time on that great ship, and I hope you've made some friends." A tear formed in Kira's eyes, although Murrue and Cagalli were ignorant of this. "Auel, I turn to you now and I give my order from beyond the grave, or rather, a request: Should the Destroy still be functional, I want you to use it for good and justice."

'Like that could _ever _happen...' Kira thought, some memories running through his head over Oscar's speech, showing just how well the Destroy could do it's job... and then how Shinn had kidnapped Stella and taken her from Kira.

"I have to admit... having that thing by our side would have been a great asset, objectively speaking..." Cagalli grumbled.

"I want you to become an extra limb of the body that will fight the Destiny Plan. Just because something was meant for pure destruction does not mean that it can't be used for good, and that machine is proof. Use it to destroy my brother's sick, twisted dreams. Even if it was one of the ORB soldiers who personally ended me, I want you to listen to them, they will treat you far better then what you were treated like as a 'tool' for Lord Djibril's devious schemes. So with that, I end off this recording, and I put my hopes in your hands." The video looked as if it would end when Oscar made one more movement, and started to speak again.

"I almost forgot one of the most important things I have to say..." He shook his head, clearly unimpressed with his own actions. "This last little bit is for Princess Cagalli Yula Attha and Prince Kira Yamato of the ORB Union..."

"You already told us to go to Mendel..." The Ultimate Coordinator said.

"The Mendel Colony... I think your group went there near the end of the First War... before the horrific battle at Yachin Due, but you might not know your whole story, even if you think you do. I've already said that Kira is the product of the Ultimate Coordinator project but there's more... something more... that Gilbert told me long ago before we parted ways..." He seemed to be frustrated, as demonstrated by the look on his face. "... but I can't remember what. Dammit! I'm sorry, but that's all I can say right now..." The sound of another voice could be heard in the background. "Please don't let this all be in vain!" He begged, the recording coming to an abrupt ending shortly afterwords.

"That was..." Murrue was the first speak after the transmission officially reached it's end.

"... unexpected... but not unrealistic." Kira added as Cagalli huffed, the two brunettes turning to her; turning to their leader.

"I... this is too much to handle right now, but considering the state of the world... I can't just say that as an excuse not to address this... I just can't." Cagalli lowered her head downwards, not necessarily in a confused way but the girl was clearly frustrated.

"We can't let Chairman Durandal get away with what he wants to do, if that is what he wants to do... Miss Murrue, you said a while back about Durandal playing on the defensive and getting everyone on his side... I think with what this man said, and with the proof we now have about his connection to Durandal... I'm shocked to say the least." Kira explained, holding his voice at a neutral tone, although only just.

"I'm shocked too. The question is... how will we react." Murrue replied as the two looked at Cagalli, who had focused herself and now had an absolutely determined look on her face.

"There's no question... Chairman Durandal must be stopped... if this is what he's doing, then we need to halt his plans and tear them to pieces. This goes against ORB and I will not standby and just allow him to trample over all of us so that he can do what he wants so damn that Durandal if he even tries!" She stated, filled with resolve and vigor of a Lioness.

"However, he now has a large portion of the population on his side going into his campaign against this group called 'Logos'." Kira began to lean against the wall.

"Indeed. It makes you wonder once more just who was behind the Junius Seven drop. Perhaps the Chairman's intentions may be good in regards to Logos... from what we've heard today there's no doubt that he might try to take another big step afterwords." Murrue continued as Cagalli shook her head in disgust.

"One thing's for certain... once we meet up with the Takemikazuchi and the rest of our forces we need to get something done and QUICKLY! One way or another I'm going back to ORB and I AM TAKING BACK WHAT IS MINE! That's final! Kira... Miss Murrue... are you with me on that?" The Lioness asked, expecting an answer, and expecting it quickly.

"Yes." Kira responded.

"Absolutely." Murrue did the same. "But we're still waiting..."

"I know. Just... be sure to get everything going once the time comes, alright?" Cagalli asked once again, receiving a friendly salute from the Captain.

"Good..." Kira spoke, the tone and feeling of his voice seeming to become a bit depressed as the one word he said went from start to finish. "I think... I'll be going now. I need to go to my room for a bit." He added, leaving the room, and leaving behind a slightly sour feeling in both the Captain and Chief Representative. Just by the way he sounded Cagalli knew there was something wrong with him, and that itself made her uncomfortable.

"Wait, Kira? Shouldn't you have something to eat first?" Cagalli asked, receiving no answer. "What's the matter with him? Why all of a..." She thought out loud, her eyes widening as she came to a realization. 'Duh...' She thought, nodding to Murrue and then leaving the room shortly afterwords. "Kira... Kira?" He was nowhere to be seen in the halls. "That idiot! Sometimes..." She shook her head, making her way towards his room.

* * *

The Ultimate Coordinator quickly made his way inside of his room, carelessly taking off his military jacket and simply tossing it to his side before almost jumping face first onto his bed and sighing with sadness.

"Kira... Kira..." He heard from the other side of the door, a recognizable voice calling out for him, but he didn't want to respond. "Kira... open this door..." She demanded, waiting outside as he continued to ignore her. "Fine then, you know I can override it!" Cagalli raised her voice with anger, the door opening up about seven seconds later as a rather angry blonde walked inside the dark room. "Kira..." She noticed him just lying on the bed right there, by himself his face in the sheets up near the pillow, looking completely helpless. "What's wrong?" She asked in a sisterly tone, again receiving no response from him and making her way forward, the door closing behind her at the same time, making the room even darker.

However Cagalli was still able to see inside the room, and did so to great effect, sitting down on the bed next to her brother's body and moving over to him. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong!" She raised her voice and matched her tone to something more like how she talked in the first war when they were seeing each other, but again received no response. 'Dammit, Kira! If something's bothering you then tell me!' She thought before placing her hands on the underside of his belly and then, after gathering all her might, began to flip him over, or at least tried to. Admittedly she was able to get him a good forty degrees but past that he simply decided to take things into his own hands and just get up on his own accord, sitting at the back of the bed with his rear just in front of one of the pillows. As Cagalli observed him she realized that there was a difference between the Kira Yamato that she met during the first war and the Kira Yamato before her right now. Mainly, that the former would be crying, while the ladder was holding back his liquid emotions inside of his distressed head.

"Cagalli... I'm fine. I'm just tired." He stated as she narrowed her eyes in a pissed off fashion, seeing right through that and slapping him across the face.

"Don't joke around Kira, I know right now that you're not 'just tired'!" She moved closer to him as he let out a sigh of defeat. She wasn't going to leave him alone, and he knew it. "So... tell me... what's bothering you?" She made a sad face and asked in her sweet tone once more.

"What's wrong, Cagalli? Everything. Everything... is wrong right now... everything." The Ultimate Coordinator stated in a depressed tone.

"Well... Kira! Why is everything wrong! Tell me so that I can fix it! You know I can't stand it when you decide to just hide yourself and cry about these things! It makes me worry! It makes me worry and as your sister I feel I have an obligation to help you in a time like this!" She protested, causing him to turn his head to it's left and stare her right in the eyes, and give a slight smile.

"Just like how it's my obligation as your brother to protect you? Heh..." He managed a very slight chuckle, the grin on his lips evaporating a second later, as if all hope and happiness had been expended from his being. "You know how I feel about this... this nonsense about coordinators and naturals... right? And you know how I feel about myself?"

"Yeah..."

"The Destiny Plan... or at least, as he described it." Kira shook his head disapprovingly. "Just as it stands for everything that ORB is against... it stands for..."

"Everything that you are against... I know. The revelation has me quite... shocked also, Kira."

"It's just... unlike before, when our enemies were Patrick Zala and Muruta Azrael... all they wanted was genocide... and those who sided with them were crazed lunatics with power... but they were more... how can I say this... clear-cut in their intentions. But... this man, Chairman Durandal... he's not like that... he's far more clever. To me, Azrael and Zala were destructive programs that would make their way onto your hard drive and begin to just DELETE EVERYTHING while dancing in front of your face, and you had to do everything in your power to stop them. Durandal... no... he's different. He's like a virus that makes its way into your computer and pretends to be your firewall... or your anti-malware software, but in reality he's working towards the destruction of all that you have." Kira stated oddly, but then again, he did have superb abilities when it came to computers, so a comparison like this was not out of his league.

"Yeah... I know what you mean. Now the entire world is going to be on his side. They're going to see Logos as an enemy and although I didn't see a single one of those bastards who didn't have deep ties to any nation... heck even ORB isn't free of guilt there, so I don't blame him for trying to go after them if they are truly the reason for this." Cagalli explained.

"But are they... that's the question. If anything... we'll just have to wait and see." He began to move closer to her, and she welcomed it, as he still seemed to be plagued with depression. "And then there's that other thing... the Mendel Colony..." His voice held an acidic ring to it as he said those last two words.

"That has me on the way to an ulcer too, Kira. I mean, we went to the Mendel Colony last war... and things didn't go so well back then. And now he tells us that there's more stuff for us to learn?" She growled. "What could those dead bastards possibly have to torment us with anymore? I mean... are we... Aliens? Do we come from another dimension? If we go there will that be the last time that we do? Come. On!" She raged. "How much knowledge has been hidden from us over these past few years? I'm just so sick of this constant developments that are rocking our world all the time... it's frustrating!" She groaned in anger, causing him to answer her call now, and lean against her, placing one hand behind her back. She welcomed it though, even though he was her _brother_.

"I feel the same way..." He let out a slight cry. She looked at him again and he looked at her, and although they had both discussed the so called 'Destiny Plan' and the information in the abandoned colony. Despite this, Cagalli knew that there was something more bothering Kira... something a little different from before. She felt his hand on her back, and she felt him leaning on her... closely, and then it hit her.

"I know... I'm a little upset about Stella too..."

"I couldn't protect her... I couldn't keep her safe... and now... well she's on the Minerva but who knows where that is?" He questioned.

"Did you... did you..."

"... I loved her... I felt happy with her... it was just... her very virtue... that had managed to survive all along despite what had been done to her and a little bit of her knowledge... just the way she was brought a smile to my face when we talked... and then I realized that I had feelings for her... and shortly afterwords... she's gone." He mourned, the twins remaining silent for a couple of seconds before Kira spoke again. "And I'm uncertain if I'll ever see her again..."

'He has no one... well he has me... but he can't... you know... be with me...' Cagalli thought to herself before reaching behind his back and placing her right hand on his spine, caressing it. "It's okay, Kira... Zaft... even though Durandal has questionable intentions, isn't the Earth Alliance. If anything... she might be in better hands right now then if she was with us..." Cagalli smiled as Kira seemed to fall into her lap with a slight thud, depressing the mattress as he rolled somewhat, his his upper torso in her lap and his head on her left leg.

"I... I just hope you're right, Cagalli..." He tried to say, his voice getting a little more depressed, and a little more tired by the second as she inverted her smile, wrapping her arms around his body and trying to pull him in a little closer, for the sake of comforting them both. "I'm sure... you'll see her again... in the future..." Her voice was uncharacteristically weak as she said that, as if she didn't want to say it but had to... but then at the same time, she realized that Kira, for all he was, had fallen asleep in her arms. "Good night, Kira..." She caressed his scalp and smiled at the resting warrior beneath her. Although at the same time she realized that from this position she might not be able to go to sleep herself. Despite this, she was alright, if it meant keeping him happy in his time of need.

* * *

Zaft Base of Gibraltar:

The sky was getting darker and dimmer as a certain Zaft purple suit, who wore a FAITH badge at his side stepped onto a transfer shuttle, after having had arrived in the base just a few minutes earlier. As he took his seat on the transport, he was met by it's pilot. A sturdy African man of about twenty five looked onto his guest as he buckled himself in.

"We'll be leaving shortly, Admiral. The weather is strong out there but I'll do my best to make it tolerable."

"As long as I get to where I'm going in time. Just keep the goal in mind, alright?" Kendan Westenfluss answered.

"Yes sir." The pilot answered, making his way to the cockpit.

'And now... all the pieces have been set... it's a matter of time...' Kendan thought.

* * *

Minerva:

After being re-directed to another location further south the Zaft vessel known as the LHM-BB01 Minerva touched down onto the snowy dirt, it's engines slowly dying down a few seconds later as it's massive red and gray wings folded into the body, the bridge crew looking somewhat exhausted from all the traveling and fighting that they've been doing in the last few hours.

"Excellent landing, Malik." Talia looked scanned the bridge. "Now, all of you, get some shut eye. I've been informed that we'll receive our next set of orders sometime tomorrow morning. Until then... well... there's nothing to do. However in preparation for our next assignment, whatever it might be, I want all of you to be at your best. That is all." She explained, her bridge crew saluting her before she began to make her way towards the elevator, the ship's Executive Officer following suit.

"Um... ma'am... a word?" Arthur Trine asked as the two stepped on the elevator.

"Yes, Arthur..."

"The Chairman's speech... earlier today... what did you think of it? I thought it was rather bold, to be honest."

"Bold it was, Arthur." The elevator began to descend. "I must say though this is a daring plan on the Chairman's part. Going right for the throat of the Earth's military-industrial complex." The two exited the elevator and began to walk down the ship's hallways. "High risk, high reward. I think in the future this vessel is going to find itself in some very... difficult battles so that we may end this war decisively. I doubt those members of 'Logos' that the Chairman has called out aren't just going to sit around and allow him to throw them out of power. Then again, we'll just have to wait and see." The Captain finished.

"Uhh... alright then. Thank you, ma'am."

"Goodnight, Arthur." The two parted ways at an intersection.

In the meantime, in one of the Minerva's darker rooms, which was actually one of it's bedrooms, a certain red suit was typing away at his computer station. His black hair was brushed slightly out of the way so as to not block his vision whatsoever and his red eyes held a gaze of complete and total focus and resoluteness. At the same time there was the question of just what it was that he was looking at, and on the screen in front of him, there it was: The Strike Noir, or rather, data footage; combat data of the ORB mobile suit known as the Strike Noir...

* * *

I'm just going to say right now that in regards to Neo, I never actually had plans for him to continue on with the fic. The reasoning for this was because in canon the Destiny Plan was something that seemed to be tacked onto the Plot at the end of the series so that the 'good guys' actually had a 'good' reason for going after Durandal. I didn't like that and so I wanted to make it's unveiling, at least to some of the important plot characters, happen earlier. That's where Neo comes in. Also, you just don't survive taking an anti-matter blast like Mwu did in cannon and survive. **You just don't. **Heck, I'd say that shot should have easily had enough firepower to bust through the Strike's shield, destroy the gundam and the Archangel's bridge, considering the nature of positrons (it's more powerful than 'just an overpowered beam'). So with that, Neo takes on the role of 'hidden messenger' in my fic. It's just how I had to make it happen.

Also, as you all should be aware, 33B will be my re-write of Operation Angel Down. However from what you can guess the fight will play out differently then cannon. I do intend to give Kira a lot more respect than what they did in GSD34. That being said, what you'll see will be a bit of a surprise, both dialogue wise and fighting wise. However I don't know when exactly I'll be releasing that episode though. I say this... to build up the suspense. P.S. Arthogawa... yeah you were dead wrong on the predictions for Angel Down T_T that's okay though.


	4. Phase 33: Fall of Two Angels

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Addressing reviews:

Arthogawa: I know what you mean about Neo. However consider that at the same time, the piloting thing might have worked well if I had made him out to be a good pilot. I didn't. He got practically owned by Waltfeld in the 16th Phase and in 31A/31B he went down, hard. Simply put... I stated what I wanted his character to do at the end of last chapter. However keep in mind that the balance of power, gundam pilot wise, will shift towards the middle/end of the fic. How/why? Wait and see. Hint: It has something to do with what Captain Gladys said about firing the Tannhauser in the beginning of last chapter. With that in mind... and this is unrelated, kinda funny how Gladys and Kira share the somewhat same mindset? They both kinda 'opposed' the Destiny Plan and they both, while soldiers who will fire when ready, will try to keep civilians safe? No, I'm not implying that I'll ship them (LOL) but I am pointing that out for the sake of it XD

Dragon Shinobi: I'm just going to repeat what I sent you in that PM:

"_SIEG ZAFT... ERR... HAIL ZAFT...  
Doesn't quite have the ring of SIEG ZEON/HEIL ZEON  
XD"_

With that in mind Gihren Zabi is better than Patrick Zala and although Char and Durandal do have the same seiyu, Char is three times faster and you just can't beat that!

And now I, ExArchmagus, stand before you all, in the wake of the horrific disaster that is Phase 10 of the GSD remaster, where **Chairman Durandal stated that he actually has less power and influence than Lacus **(it makes perfect sense if you think about it and is totally not writer bias /sarcasm), I present you with... Phase 33 of _Gundam SEED: Humanity's Fate: Consequentialism..._

* * *

Morning after Durandal states his intention to launch an anti-Logos campaign:

Flying at a high altitude, above the rocky, snow white terrain of the Alps was a winged, pale blue mobile suit with a red eye, white wings with purple tips on it's back and a large sensor dish on the very top of it's body. Sitting quietly in his cockpit the pilot of said AMRF-101C AWACS DINN looked at his sensors with complete and utter boredom. Nothing had come up yet and he eagerly awaited the end of his flight, until, right out of nowhere, something appeared.

"Wait? What's this?" The Zaft green suit looked closer at the screen, grinning as he figured out just what had appeared on his screen. "Ah, so this wasn't a complete waste after all..." He smirked, pressing a few buttons on his radio as he did.

* * *

Zaft Compton-class battleship Ereni:

The brown land battleship sat comfortably on top of the snow beneath it, another of it's kind, the Uhran sitting next to it as well.

"Message from AWACS-006 sir. We've detected something at section 3.1838... it's the Archangel!" The Executive Officer of the ship, a young male Zaft black suit with dark hair alerted as the commanding officer, a somewhat shorter figure adorned with a FAITH badge and a purple Zaft coat smirked with satisfaction.

"Oh, is that so? Well... she couldn't stay hidden forever. Notify Headquarters this instant and make the necessary preparations at once." Admiral Kendan Westenfluss ordered.

* * *

LHM-BB01 Minerva, someplace to the south of the Ereni and Uhran:

The normal day crew had just managed to 'wake themselves up' at this time, in the sense that they were ready for action, whatever that action may be.

"Good morning, gentlemen and lady... I hope you all had a nice rest last night, considering all that's happened." Captain Talia Gladys greeted her bridge crew as she made her way to her seat in the middle of the room after hopping off of the elevator. At the same time the ship's Executive Officer, Arthur Trine was leaning over Meyrin Hawke's station, his eyes fixed upon one of the screens there.

"Ugh... Captain... we've just received a message from Fleet Command Headquarters. It's our next assignment..." Arthur informed, his voice tainted with some sort of worrying emotion as the Captain turned to face him.

'If this is what I think it is... considering where we were sent...' Talia thought.

"Minerva is to provide support for Operation Angel Capture which is now commencing." The Executive Officer gulped.

At that moment in time, the vessel's Captain simply snapped her right fingers, a somewhat disappointed expression on her face. 'I knew it...'

* * *

Several purple BuCUEs raced down one of the many white slopes in the region on their tank treads, making swift, evasive turns to their left and right as they chased after their designated target. One of the large, animal shaped mobile suits started to fire a barrage of missiles at the great white and red ship that was flying at a low altitude in front of it, the CIWS mounted on the vessel's underside working tirelessly to crank out defensive shells and neutralize the projectiles headed the ships way, while another BuCUE, equipped with a pair of massive Rail guns mounted on it's back, fired a salvo at the Archangel, the culmination of shots exploding behind the ship in a large ball of fire.

"Ten to port, Neumann. Try to keep us in the shadow of the plateau." Captain Ramius ordered as her blue haired subordinate nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Valiants one and two, lock onto target... fire!" Commander Waltfeld ordered as a barrage of hot yellow linear cannon shots fired from the long, thin cannons mounted on the sides of the ship, rushing towards the attacking mobile suits behind the Archangel. While the BuCUEs attempted to make evasive maneuvers they were for the most part, successful, bar one of the ground suits which suffered a hit right at it's neck, being shot down then and there.

* * *

In the meantime a pair of ugly purple BABIs angled-in on the mobile suit belonging to ORB's Ace pilot, the cannons mounted on their chest firing each firing a larger than average white and red beam at the Strike Noir, which rolled to it's right and flipped upside down, evading the attacks before firing back with the beam rifle in it's right hand, striking one of the BABI's directly in the chest and the other just below the neck, causing the two machines to explode and ending the lives of the pilots inside.

"Miss Murrue..." Kira yelled into the radio, his eyes narrowing as he picked up on another hostile headed right in his directly, strafing backwards and taking hold of the anti-ship sword holstered in his machine's left wing as another BABI flew past him, the Noir cutting the suit horizontally in half, Kira placing the sword in a defensive position across his suit's body to shield the Noir from the explosion caused by the destruction of the mass production Zaft machine.

* * *

"Kira... guh..." Captain Ramius groaned, her ship suffering a missile hit to someplace on it's body, the CIWS failing to shoot down the missile as two Compton-class vessels approached from somewhere behind the Archangel, firing their artillery cannons at the ship and striking the mountain next to it, breaking away massive amounts of rocks and scatting a fair amount of snow and dust in the process, the kinetic energy wave transferring through the air and forcing the crew to suffer from even more turbulence. "Will somebody tell me what's going on? I thought we shook Zaft off of our tail?" The Captain asked.

"I thought the same... but right now it looks like we're going to be surrounding in a matter of moments, Captain!" Andrew warned.

"I can see that... damn..." Murrue shook her right fist with some force. "... They planned this... they must've! Apparently hunting us down is more important then cleaning up the mess in Eurasia then!"

"Eight BuCUEs approaching from starboard!" Dalida warned.

"Nine BABI's at ten o'clock... as well as approximately ten missiles from stern." Mirallia added.

"Evade and shoot them down!" Murrue commanded.

"Dammit!" Kira swore, literally throwing the sword in his left hand up into the air and reaching for the beam pistol on his left skirt armor, locking onto the missiles approaching the Archangel and firing the weapons in his hands as well as the Noir's beam cannons, intercepting them before storing his beam pistol and catching the sword he had thrown, noticing one BuCUE down below as it started to approach the Archangel at a quicker speed than the others. "You..." He muttered, dive bombing directly downwards and, his heading set for the canine-like mobile suit as he came out of his dive, stabbing the suit directly in it's back with his blade as he noticed another headed right for him with the double-ended beam saber in it's mouth activated, the Ultimate Coordinator jumping away from the machine he had just ended as the other one jumped after him and tilted it's head, so as to line up it's attack. However this wasn't going to work as the Noir fixed it's arm position into a defensive pose and blocked the attack, the Noir being pushed back by the enemy machine as Kira ran the beam on his blade down the BuCUE's, sparks of lightning flying off the opposing forces until Kira's pink beam met the head and emitter of the BuCUE, cutting it then and there before going through the neck and decapitating the suit, the Noir kicking the metal dog to the ground with his left foot right after. "You're lucky that wasn't your cockpit... now go home!" He warned, a pissed off cringe on his brow.

"Where's Lady Cagalli right now? Why can't she launch in the Rouge?" Andrew Waltfeld questioned from the ship's bridge as it shook once more.

"Kira told me she didn't manage to get any rest last night after all that happened and if she were to launch in a situation like this he would have to mind her as well as the ship. Right now she's in her room... of all the times for something like this to happen..." Murrue shook her head in anger.

"Damn... I understand..." Andrew replied.

"I regret not ordering our Murasames to stick close to the ship at Zagreb... we could really use them or some reinforcements right now." The Captain groaned, the stress of this battle, to which the odds were against the Archangel was increasing minute by minute. "If we can just make it to the sea... we'll be alright! Everyone hold on until then!" She ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" The ship suffered a hit from a BABI to the gray armor in front of the bridge and between the legs.

"Return fire with the Gottfrieds!" Murrue yelled, the two dark gray double beam cannons of the Archangel firing off four green bolts of beam energy at the attacking machines in front of the ship.

* * *

Ereni bridge:

"Target has advanced ten to the west!"

"All of the Elu team's BABIs have been shot down!"

"Damn that accursed Archangel..." Kendan Westenfluss grunted, staring down onto the tactical map of the area, which displayed the Archangel being surrounded by several blue blips which were meant to represent Zaft's mobile suits. One after the other these blue dots turned red and then disappeared as the vessel continued on it's course down one of the valley's in the Alps. "Order the mobile suits to not be overly reckless... we need to wait for the Minerva to arrive before we can even have a chance of sinking the Archangel..." Kendan ordered. 'As pathetic as that sounds...'

"Sir... because we're playing it safe and trying to box it it we're the one's getting cornered here. I say we forget the Minerva and attack with everything!" The officer who was next in command stated.

"Hahah... hahaha!" Kendan chuckled. "You sir... apparently have not a damn clue what happened during Operation Spitbreak and at the Battle of Yachin Due, do you?" Kendan inquired, his tone one of a calmed and controlled man, but still held a fragment of anger, impatience and arrogance in it. "As much as I want to rush in and take them out, with the situation as it is right now, we're better off waiting for Captain Gladys to close in. Once that happens, we'll strike."

* * *

Captain Talia Gladys' Officer, Minerva:

"Captain, are you telling me that these orders... are for real?" Shinn asked, leaning over the Captain's desk.

"Yes, I already checked with Fleet Command to be sure. It's true... the Minerva's been ordered to go after the Archangel and attempt to either force their surrender or, should that not be an option, sink it." Talia slowly stood up and faced her pilot, a slight grin forming on Shinn's face as he heard those words, a grin that she herself noticed, but did not question, not yet anyway.

"So does that mean that I'll be fighting against..." Shinn tried to ask as Talia cut him off, the Minerva's Captain clearly in a state of stress at this point.

"... Kira Yamato and the Strike Noir? Yes, from what we've heard that this point, that gundam is the only mobile suit that they've deployed and it's been shooting down every single machine that we've launched thus far." Talia stated, wearing a neutral look as Shinn's subtle smile seemed to expand a little more.

"I see..." Shinn spoke with confidence.

"In any case, Shinn, good luck." Talia sighed, reaching towards something on her desk, behind her computer that Shinn did not notice before. It was the plaque given to her at ORB by Cagalli due to the vessel's heroic actions at Junius Seven. Red eyes widened as the Impulse's pilot noticed Captain Gladys pick up the plaque and open a draw in her desk, placing it inside and closing the draw afterwords.

"Huh? Isn't that supposed to be on the bridge?" He questioned, causing the blonde, white suited women to look him right in the eyes.

"Not anymore... not since the situation has changed... it's unfitting." Talia explained, the tone of her voice somewhat implying that her conversation with Shinn was over, yet despite this, he stayed right there before her desk. "You know, I'll tell you something right now. I never actually considered the Archangel to be our enemy, even after the incident at the Dardanelles. If anything I thought of it as more of an unchained, chaotic good ally all this time, after what happened at Zagreb." She took a deep breath in. "However... times change, and we are soldiers of Zaft. It is our duty to carry out our orders and comply with the commands of our senior officers. Now is not the time for personal emotions on the matter, understood?" She asked as Shinn replied with a quick yes, giving off a slight smile once more.

'Unless your personal feelings give you strength in your time of need... strength to... bring Justice...' Shinn thought to himself as Talia narrowed her gray eyes.

"Why are you smiling like that? It doesn't make sense."

"What?"

"You fought with Kira at Junius Seven, and from what I heard you had a talk with him on the Archangel. You also cooperated with him to bring down that... 'thing' and now you're going out to face him in combat, yet you are smiling, why?" Talia asked, causing Shinn back to be mentally 'pushed back' as his eyes burst open in shock. "You're hiding something from me, Shinn. What is it?" She narrowed her gaze a little bit more as Shinn composed himself, swallowing before speaking.

"If you honestly want to know Captain... I want to go out there and fight Kira... because I want to have a chance at avenging the death of my family; I wish to go out there and claim my revenge!" Shinn almost yelled as he said those words, his tone one of a confident and somewhat righteous person. However this confidence was quickly broken as Gladys proceeded to grit her teeth and outright backhand Shinn across the face, his eyelids retreating into his skull as his mouth shot open wide in complete and utter disbelief.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Talia asked as Shinn turned back to face her, rubbing his slapped cheek and looking as if he had traded his cocky expression for one of anger ready to burst. "Are you seriously telling me that you're going to go out there because 'he killed your family' and that you want to claim revenge for them?" She asked, blatantly upset.

"Permission to speak freely."

"Granted." She snapped, crossing her arms, the her black cuffs pressing together against her feminine chest.

"Is my desire for revenge unjustified? If so, then why?" Shinn raised his voice somewhat as Talia maintained her cold stare.

"Yes, yes it so very much is, especially if you're willing to cloud your judgment because of it." She explained.

"Oh, cloud my judgment? What the hell does that mean?" He asked again, the volume in his voice still raised to above normal levels.

"If you keep your focus fixed fanatically on something mindless like revenge then it will affect your decision making in battle and you will suffer for it. Shinn, I'm going to tell you right now to stop this nonsense and refuse hatred safe passage into your soul. I know you can get incredibly emotional at times..."

"I DO NOT!" He raged as she sighed.

"... like right now?" She questioned sternly, silencing him. "From what I've seen about you, you like to be the best you can on the battlefield, and you hate mistakes. The mark you made on your academy record proves this, as does your experience on the battlefield. You're an excellent pilot Shinn and I've rarely seen you make a mistake that you have failed to rectify. However, right now this is different. A few minutes ago you were smiling because you would finally be given the chance to rush out there and come at Kira Yamato full force and 'claim your revenge'. When you do this your head will be filled with the desire to see him fall at any cost, and when that happens you'll pass the point of no return."

"But..." Shinn tried to say. Talia shook her head at the pilot.

"No. Buts. Okay?" She said in an incredibly stern voice. "Now, get that through your head now. I don't want to hear another angry thought like that which finds it's roots in emotion and irrationality. Those two things alone are what can critically compromise a soldier on the battlefield and if you're not careful they could end up costing you your life, Shinn. UNDERSTAND? Just look at Athrun for example. I think you already know this but during the time he spent piloting the Aegis he was reluctant to harm Kira, even though Kira was an unskilled pilot at the time and he was a trained ace. As a result of this, Kira managed to get better and better and better, while Athrun's team continued to fail in their mission to sink the Archangel and either capture or destroy the Strike gundam and as because of that many Zaft pilots lost their lives including one of Athrun's best friends and his fellow pilot, Nicol Amalfi. If Athrun had not allowed his emotions to get in the way he might have ended up getting Kira in the end. However, looking at his combat record and how he acted on board this ship, I'm not impressed." She explained, causing Shinn to huff as if raging steam was going to come out of his nostrils.

"Fine then, Captain. I understand." He admitted, although reluctantly.

"You still have to go out there and face the Strike Noir though, don't forget that." She warned as he turned around, preparing to leave the room, stopping a second before he left.

"Captain, why did you even ask me why I was 'smirking'?"

"Because I could tell by the look in your eyes and the curve of your lip that you were hiding something, that you wanted to go out into this battle. However, I knew that I needed to warn you first." He turned around at those words. "I'm about to tell you something right now and you had better not tell anyone else what I'm about to say, got it?" She asked, the sound waves of her voice being carried by an air of authority.

"What is it?"

"If you focus on revenge and the past and on past bickerments you'll end up no better than Admiral Kendan Westenfluss and I'm guessing by now you understand my opinion of him, right?" He nodded angrily in response.

"Fine then... "

"Just be careful out there, Shinn. Even though I disagree with our mission's objective we've been tasked to go after a vessel that is both armed and ready to shoot back should the situation call for it and due to that reason I'm not going to complain about it. However, you had better come back in one piece, got it?" Shinn looked at her, somewhat surprised due to the slightly amount of emotion that had gotten into her voice near the end of her speech. "It'll be you against the Noir and given the current circumstances and even my own feelings for that suit I'd rather the best Zaft pilot who I've had significant experience observing and commanding live to see the next battle, understood? While I have no idea whether or not your opponent will try to disable or take your life it'll be better not to take any chances." Talia spoke boldy, causing Shinn to smile somewhat. "This will be the hardest battle the Minerva has fought in to this date. Against that particular ship... we're going to need our best efforts from the get go."

"Acknowledged, Captain Gladys. I'll be in the Core Splendor." He left the room as she lowered her head.

"And I'll be on the bridge... we should be getting a feed from AWACS any second now..." She mumbled to herself.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Lower the bridge and upgrade to condition red. Prepare for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat." Talia ordered as the floor of the Minerva's bridge began to lower.

"Activate CIWS, Tristans and Isolde. Load Launchers one, two and three with Parsifals." Arthur issued, the pair of twin beam cannons adjusting their aim as the Minerva's Isolde and point defense CIWS came to life, the missile launchers on the side of the ship opening up and preparing to unleash their projectiles.

"Time until the Archangel is in range of the main guns?" Talia turned her head to it's right and looked at Bart.

"Two minutes, Captain." The radar operator answered.

"Arthur, have the Isolde aimed towards the bow, and prepare to quickly lock onto the target and fire once we receive a visual. Also make sure each Tristan is repositioned to aim at an angle of forty five degrees upwards and to port and starboard respectively."

"Ma'am?" Arthur turned and faced his Captain, clearly confused and befuddled.

"We're not going to have much time to think once we acquire a visual... she'll be right in our face in an instant."

"Ugh... yes ma'am..."

"Be sure not to deliberately target their engines... I don't want a vessel that size losing navigation control when it's that close to us..." She then turned to Malik. "Lower bow fifteen. Take us down to their reported altitude."

"Ma'am!" The helmsman complied.

* * *

In the meantime the Archangel continued to proceed through the valley it was traveling through, the Strike Noir, which was only holding it's main beam rifle in it's right hand closed in, so that it was flying next to the ship, right in front of the port fin, Kira scanning the area with his normal eyes, keeping on the look out.

"Did we drive them off?" He asked over the radio.

"For now, at least." Murrue answered as Waltfeld tossed his two cents in from the tactical officer's chair.

"For now... key word. Zaft isn't beaten yet. Considering how much trouble we had earlier I doubt they would just give up on us yet. I wouldn't even think of heading back yet, Kira."

"I know... not until we hit the sea at the very least." Kira replied.

* * *

Ereni bridge:

"Sir, the Minerva's closing in on the Archangel. They'll have them in their sights in a matter of moments!" One of the crew members informed.

'Now, Gladys... do you have what it takes?' Kendan smirked. "Fire the jamming shells immediately, and have the Minerva launch it's mobile suit!" He commanded as the two Compton-class vessels each shot a salvo from their triple cannons, the shots raining down onto the Archangel and exploding in a flash of light. 'That should give her a head start...'

* * *

The Impulse's Core Splendor unit rose up into launching position on the ship's central catapult, it's engines roaring to life as Shinn prepared to leave the ship.

'I may be on a mission... but Mom, Dad... Mayu... this is still for you, even with what the Captain said in mind...' Shinn thought, focusing in on the snowy sky in front of him, outside of the ship. "Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!" He announced, the small fighter yet like unit bursting out of the central opening of the Minerva, spinning around in the air as the Chest, Leg, and Force Silhouettes followed suit shortly after in that respective order. The Core Splendor then rose into the air and transformed into mobile suit mode before docking with the legs of the Impulse, and then the chest, with the red backpack coming in last as the gundam enlarged it's shield, prepared for combat.

"_Commence the attack!_" Gladys ordered with vigor, going forward in her chair.

"Launchers one through three, fire!" Arthur added, the gray and red Minerva launching a volley of Parsifals ahead of itself, the explosive projectiles either being shot down by the Archangel or crashing and exploding against the mountainside near the legged ship, the entire area seeming to ignite at the same time.

* * *

"Huh? What's this? Damn!" Kira swore, evading missile fire as his sensors began to beep, the Noir pulling back and dodging some beam fire that came from above it's head, the Force Impulse appearing out of the sky and rushing towards the winged machine. "Shinn?"

"AHHH!" The red eyed teen roared, heading down to match Kira's altitude and firing another beam rifle shot at the other machine, Kira easily dodging to his right.

* * *

The Archangel continued to race against the destruction that was taking place behind it, making a turn to it's starboard and heading directly into the blinding snowstorm, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the darker Minerva appeared right in front of her, directly ahead.

"What? The Minerva?" Murrue freaked out a little.

* * *

'There she is...' Talia thought to herself with a neutral expression.

"Archangel in sight. Distance: 2000!" Bart yelled.

"Isolde, fire!" Arthur ordered, the triple beam cannon of the ship firing it's three rays of energy at the Archangel.

* * *

"Evade it!" Murrue yelled frantically.

"Captain, I'm trying!" Neumann gripped the wheel and turned it hard to the right, the Archangel's left leg lifting up and gaining altitude as the ship made efforts to dodge the Minerva and it's attack, the three Isolde beams striking the vessel's main cargo hanger door that was between it's legs twice, as well as the Port Lohengrin Hatch once, causing everyone on the ship to shake. As the bridge crew braced themselves in their seats, a certain exhausted and tired blonde rolled out of the wrong side of her bed and fell to the floor, instantly snapping to as she did...

The Archangel continued to tilt upwards and seemed to fly over the Minerva's port side wing, the tip of each vessel's wing barely touching one another but grinding against each other nonetheless. In the meantime the Executive Officer of the ship looked at the Archangel with a wide-mouthed awe.

* * *

"Arthur, fire! Now!" Talia ordered, snapping his attention back.

"Uh... yes Captain! Tristan two, fire!" He yelled, the port side double beam cannon shooting it's pair of shots at the Archangel's side, striking the loaded, port side missile launcher on the ship's rear, a rather large explosion taking place at that location.

* * *

"Port launchers are down!" An ORB soldier sitting in the tactical area below in the lower bridge informed.

"Captain, I'm sorry." Neumann sighed.

"You did the best you could..." Murrue said with a surprised awe and shock. "But why... why did they send _that ship?_" She questioned when the bridge door seemed to burst open if not for it's electronics system, all eyes fixed upon the individual who had entered the room.

"What in the name of Haumae is going on here?!" Princess Cagalli Yula Attha screamed in anger, her eyes clenched in rage, a pair of purple 'bags' under each of them, representing how tired she was.

"It's difficult to explain..." Murrue cringed.

"The Minerva's making a quick turn to it's port. She intends to come after us!" Neumann warned as the Zaft ship banked to it's left and quickly spun around against the wind and powered it's engines to full, coming forward at the Archangel and beginning the chase as the Archangel continued down the valley, avoiding approaching missiles that were on it's tail.

"All Helldarts, fire!" Waltfeld commanded as the ship's bridge mounted launchers began to spew their small red projectiles out one after the other in succession, the missiles slamming into the mountainside near the Minerva and throwing both smoke, dirt and snow into the air.

* * *

"Ca... Captain..." Executive Officer Trine cried from his chair.

"Calm yourself... it's alright... if we stay on course, they won't hit us yet..." All eyes shifted towards the blonde Captain. "... in fact, they're not even trying to hit us... not yet anyway..." She looked at Meyrin. "Open the international rescue channel."

"Yes ma'am!"

Captain Gladys continued to look down upon the valley as the Archangel raced away in the distance, the Minerva still keeping up at a fair pace as the white suit picked up her phone. "This is the Captain of the Minerva speaking, Talia Gladys. Archangel, do you read me?"

* * *

"Captain, it's from the Minerva." Mirallia stated as Gladys appeared on one of the ship's screens.

"Despite the past encounters our two vessels have had with each other, the Minerva's current orders are clear: Headquarters has assigned our ship the task of either capturing or sinking the Archangel. If your mobile suit ceases all combat operations and your ship declares a signal of surrender by powering down it's weapon systems, then we will likewise halt our attack..." She issued.

"What was Durandal thinking modifying the orders afterwords anyway?" Kendan asked from the Ereni's bridge.

"This is your only warning. We will not respond to any further proposals. I guarantee the safety of your crew and trust you will make the wise decision. Gladys out." Talia cautioned before hanging up her phone. 'Pointless... not with their entire fleet somewhere out there, the Noir still functional, and all of their energy weapon systems operational.' She thought to herself.

"Captain..." Neumann turned to Murrue, as did Mirallia, Dalida, and Cagalli who was sitting next to the helmsman.

"Captain Talia Gladys... she's quite the person. I'd hate to make an enemy out of her..." Murrue lowered her head somewhat and looked at Lady Cagalli expectantly.

"Surrendering to Zaft... will only help to further Durandal's goals. Right now getting back to ORB... hell or high water... is our number one priority, Miss Murrue." Cagalli stated, causing Murrue to nod in return.

"I expected you would say something like that, Lady Cagalli." Murrue turned to the person behind her to the left. "Miss Miriallia, open the same channel they were using, please." She requested.

"Yes ma'am."

Picking up her own phone, the Archangel's Captain placed it near the side of her head. "This is Murrue Ramius, I'm the Captain of the Archangel, as you know by now. We appreciate your generous offer, but at this point in time, it is an offer that this ship will have to pass on, given the current circumstances. We still have work to do, and a task at hand. Currently the perspective we have in regards to Zaft and it's leader, Chairman Gilbert Durandal, is one of extreme skepticism, and while the Earth Alliance continues to push this war towards new levels of chaos, we may seem like just a third, meddling party. However, that is exactly why the Archangel cannot afford to disappear right now. I hope you understand, _my good friend and fellow Captain._" Murrue explained, cutting the link afterwords.

"Orders... Captain...?" Andrew requested from below.

"Do not fire unless they attack first. Neumann, be on your toes." Murrue stated.

"I've been on my toes since we started the engines this morning, Captain." The helmsman responded.

* * *

"Alright, Gladys. You've had your chance to be nice and soft and it's fell flat on it's face into concrete and broken it's nose! After all, the orders did state to either destroy it or force it's surrender!" Kendan raged from the Ereni's bridge.

"Huh, Admiral?" The black suit standing next to him looked with surprise.

"Have all the mobile suits renew their attacks and power up the main engines! The Ereni and Uhran are moving up! We're bring trifled with right now! Treated like a joke by that brunette bitch! Broadcast this message to all vessels and mobile suits: Do not let the Archangel escape, no matter the cost!" He ordered, a certain tone of righteous vengeance trying to masquerade itself as justice in his tone, the Zaft BABIs still in the air shifting into their mobile armor modes and unleashing a hell storm of missiles upon the Archangel, who's CIWS did their best to crank out heavy lead shells at a high frequency for interception.

* * *

"The Archangel..." The Strike Noir's pilot noticed, attempting to dive down into the canyon below him where all the action was taking place, when a beam rifle shot prevented his descent, the Impulse blocking the path a second later.

"Not so fast!" Shinn warned as Kira narrowed his vision somewhat.

"Shinn! What are...?" Kira asked as the Impulse withdrew one of it's beam sabers and came at him full force, the Noir ascending and moving out of the way, flipping over the lighter suit and kicking it in the back before heading towards the Archangel.

* * *

"Captain..." Arthur said, his voice as soft as a pillow, his eyes staring at Gladys, waiting for her next orders.

"Knowing Admiral Westenfluss..." The two Compton-class ships began to move forward as a certain Zaft purple suit buckled up in his chair. "We're likely candidates for a court marshal if we do nothing..." Two BABIs fired their MGX-2237 "Ardor" multi-phase beam cannons at the Archangel, one of the shots missing and the other striking the starboard leg below the Gottfried. "Malik, I henceforth revoke the statement I made earlier, that the Archangel wasn't aiming to strike us down. Be prepared to make sudden evasive moves." Talia ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Malik said as Arthur continued to look at her.

"Arthur..." A frown took control of Talia's closed lips as she raised her left hand and snapped her fingers, the Executive Officer silently nodding in the meantime.

"Yes ma'am." He turned around and focused on his station. "Launchers one and two and Tristan one, fire!" He announced, several missiles flying out from the Minerva's hull as the starboard side double beam cannon fired upon the ship directly ahead of the Minerva, forcing it to shift to it's port as the shot flew past it's starboard, the two Compton-class ships that were also involved in the attack unleashing a barrage of shells in the meantime, hitting the ground between the two flying battleships and shaking things up for both of their crews.

* * *

"Well it looks like they're not going to be giving us an easy time..." Waltfeld said as the ship shook, another double barreled beam cannon blast flying over the Archangel's bridge.

"It appears so..." Murrue clenched her right fist. "But if we just let them attack us... gah... it's no good. Waltfeld, return fire!" The Captain ordered as the Archangel fired two shots out of it's starboard Valiant directly behind it in the Minerva's general direction. This was no longer a battle of words or a negotiation, now, things were getting serious as the two vessels began to exchange fire.

"Dammit! The Archangel! Cagalli!" Kira swore, rolling to his left to dodge a beam rifle shot, turning around and calibrating the aim on his own gun before firing a green beam blast at the Force Impulse.

* * *

"AHH!" Shinn screamed and roared, using his shield to rush right through the shot head on.

"Shinn, what the hell are you doing?" Kira questioned frantically, firing another blast from the Noir's beam rifle at the Impulse, which descended to avoid the shot. "SHINN!" The Noir's two beam cannons detached from the wings, held just by their hinge attachments and swung downwards, firing two white and red shots at the Impulse as it tried to come up from under Kira, forcing Shinn to descend and strafe to his left to avoid them.

"Kira, you've had it easy till now, but don't you _**DARE **_think you're taking me down, bastard!" Shinn aimed the Impulse's MA-BAR72 high-energy beam rifle directly over the gundam's head and fired at the crotch of the Noir. While the Ultimate Coordinator performed a back flip with his suit to avoid the shot, Shinn ascended to roughly the same altitude as him and the two began to circle each other, exchanging beam rifle fire while Shinn sometimes blocked with his shield.

"What is with you? And why the hell did you take Stella? Tell me that and tell me why you're so... aggravated!" Kira said, a somewhat confused look on his face as he noticed the Impulse reach behind itself and store it's beam rifle.

"Yeah, like Stella clearly wasn't dying when you had her! Our doctor had to cure her from her condition... well he somewhat did. Doesn't change the fact that I'm bringing you down today!" Shinn announced with confidence, his machine's right hand reaching up and above for it's right beam saber that was stored on it's Force Silhouette as he noticed the Noir approach him, it's left hand wielding the M8F-SB1 "Shorty" beam rifle from the left skirt armor in the appropriate hand. 'No melee weapon?' Shinn thought to himself, trying to maintain focus.

'At least Stella will live...' Kira processed what Shinn told him, the Impulse slicing downwards with it's beam saber upon the Noir, which managed to avoid the hit completely, strafe to white gundam's left side where it's shield was, and in the time frame of about a second, aimed it's beam pistol directly into the hole in the right side of the Impulse's shield and fired, the beam shot going past the machine's chest and striking the right arm at the elbow, severing it and causing the beam saber to deactivate as Kira knocked a wide eyed and shocked Shinn away.

"Grr..." Kira made a somewhat disappointed grunt. "Shinn, I am not just going to let you 'bring me down!' withdraw your forces and leave us be! I will not let you get away with this!" Kira said, his tone indicating that he didn't want to even have to say what he just did.

"Damn... Minerva, send out the Chest Flyer and the Force Silhouette!" Shinn ordered while descending away from the Noir, which was headed right for several BABIs. At the same time he heard an affirmative 'right' from Meyrin over the Impulse's radio. One of the BABIs launched all of the missiles from it's tubes at the Archangel, which was below it. Kira, in reaction to this, opened fire with the Noir's CIWS and tilted the head multiple times to make sure he shot each and everyone of them down before closing in on the target suit and blowing a hole in it's chest with both his beam rifle. Another two BABIs made their way and tried to circle the Ultimate Coordinator, who stretched out his arms and fired directly upon them, knocking the head off of one of them as the pilot managed tried evade his shot and missing the other, it's pilot having had fully dodged the blast.

'I'll keep them busy...' Kira focused on the BABI that evaded him while looking back the Impulse every few seconds. 'Miss Murrue... just get Cagalli to the sea... what the?' He mentally asked himself as the Impulse flung it's remaining arm forward and launched the shield right off of it's limb, the almost flat, white, black, red and yellow shield heading right for the Noir as the BABIs fired their beam rifles. The shield managed to hit the Noir and bounce upwards while it was trying to evade the faster beam shots, causing the Noir to be thrown slightly off balance and descend. However despite this one of the blasts from one of the BABIs did manage to scrap the Strike Noir's right shoulder armor somewhat, right above the connector to the arm and main body. "Damn... what, again? Is he out of his mind?" Kira questioned as the Force Impulse launched it's entire upper body and backpack at the Noir, Kira noticing the pieces heading right for him and cutting his engines, the Noir falling out of the way of the parts as they flew over him, crashing into the BABI that he had decapitated earlier and causing it, as well as the silhouette and flyer to explode.

As the Impulse gathered the new parts that had been flown out from the Minerva for it and attempted to reassemble itself, Kira closed in on the gap between the Archangel and Minerva, the two ships trying to outdo each other by the second, exchanging linear cannon and beam fire against each other from a distance. "Don't worry, Archangel..." Kira stated in complete focus, a purple SEED coming down from above in his eyes before hitting an invisible floor and breaking into dust, brunette storing his beam rifle and reaching out with his right hand towards something that was next to him: The Impulse's abandoned shield as it fell to the ground. "Err...gotcha!" The grapple wire shot out of the Noir's right hand and impaled the front side of the shield.

"And now..." He braced himself, yanking the controls of the Noir up and forcing the suit to come out of it's dive, the g-forced tanking on him somewhat as he ascended, the shield falling bellow him at a quicker, unbridled velocity until the grapple wire went taught. At that moment in time the Noir gave into the downward momentum of the Impulse's shield, forcing the Noir to fall forward and, for lack of better words, perform a front flip, the shield coming back up behind the Noir as if the entire shield-mobile suit set-up was a centrifuge. However once the shield managed to go over the Strike Noir's head and come down again, Kira had pulled out one of his anti-ship swords with his free hand and sliced the connecting wire, freeing the collapsible shield and allowing it to fly downwards at a high space to the area of crossfire between the Archangel and Minerva, specifically targeting the location in front of the white vessel's engines. And with a stroke of luck, the Isolde, which was aimed at said engines, fired, and two of it's shots were caught and neutralized by the falling shield, with the third striking the armored area on the Archangel's stern.

* * *

"How did he...?" Arthur gawked, completely stupefied.

"What in the world... that should have..." Malik did the same, unconsciously loosening his grip on the helm controls for a second as the Archangel unleashed a shot out of it's port side Valiant, striking the Minerva's left Tristan right between the barrels and disabling the weapon as the Linear Cannon blast raced across the mobile suit deck, heating up the area and burning up the white cross that was there, causing the entire crew to be shaken by the havoc that just happened.

"Dammit... Malik, don't lose your focus and don't let that happen again!" Talia commanded, the state of her voice more assertive and outraged than what a Captain's would usually be.

Meanwhile, a certain guest aboard the ship was mopping to herself, having had felt the disturbances of battle. "Shinn... are you fighting Kira... why...?" Stella cried to herself, the Extended's eyes closed and her face one of a person in great emotional agony.

* * *

"Where the hell are all these shots coming from?" Kira inquired, quickly avoiding a couple more artillery gun shots that were raining down on the area where the Archangel was, as well as behind it. In addition to his own personal bias, Kira figured that those shells were a bigger threat to his mother ship than the Minerva was right now, with one of it's beam cannons having been destroyed. "There..." He detected the two Compton-class ships on his radar and steered his gundam towards their general direction, his SEED mode eyes reflecting some light as he effortlessly dodged some more beam rifle shots from above him.

"Don't think you can just shake me off that easily!" Shinn declared, trying to close the gap between the two suits, his normal eyes still as focused as ever.

* * *

"The Noir's going after those two land cruisers?" Captain Ramius questioned the two behind her.

"From what it looks like..." Mirallia gripped the sides of her chair as the entire ship was shaken once again.

"True, but he's currently busy with the Impulse. The two are engaged in comb..." Dalida tried to add as another, exponentially more violent shock forced everyone forward in their seats, a horizontal green beam blitzing past the Archangel's starboard side, parallel to the direction of the ship as the sound of an explosion went off towards the starboard side of the ship's rear.

"Valiant one is down! Sealing... all bulkheads..." Dalida informed once more as Cagalli got out of her chair, her posture still not completely normal, and from what Murrue could see, she wasn't very alert and awake.

"I'm going out there, Kira's outnumbered! Get the Rouge ready!" The blonde pronounced.

"Sit down! Not in your state of being! If we lose you this will all be for nothing, understood?" Murrue looked the girl in the eyes with the stare of an angry dictator.

"Grr..." Cagalli grumbled, sitting back down again and resting her head onto her left forearm. As much as she wanted to help Kira she had barely any luck keeping her eyes open at this time, even with the constant explosions and such forcing them open.

* * *

The Force Impulse and Strike Noir continued to battle each other, exchanging beam rifle shots left and right and approaching the two Compton-class ships that Durandal had assigned to Admiral Westenfluss specifically for this mission.

"Shinn, stop this! I thought you had overcome your hatred for ORB and Cagalli! Now what are you doing?" Kira asked the younger, more volatile pilot as the Noir blocked a beam rifle hit from the Impulse with the shield in it's left hand while firing back with the rifle in it's right.

"Kira... you fool! YOU DAMN FOOL! This has nothing to do with Cagalli or ORB! I'm here to settle something right here and now and I'm here to settle it with _**you alone!**_" Shinn yelled, a tiny, glowing red SEED falling through an invisible air to an invisible ground in his eyes, crashing and breaking into a sparkling white, reflective dust as Shinn's irises decreased in radius until they were only as big as a dot.

"What, me alone?" Kira asked, 'But I never... told him...' He thought to himself, shaking his head and returning to focus. "Then how did... how you you know?"

"STELLA TOLD ME, BASTARD!" Shinn yelled in a furious, yet somewhat controlled manner, gripping one of his beam sabers with his right hand and coming at Kira full force, swinging upwards from the lower right so as to uppercut the Noir.

"She told you?" The Strike Noir's pilot asked as the mobile suit itself swung it's anti-ship sword down and clashed blades with the Impulse's saber, lightning bursting off of the point of impact.

"Yeah, she told me about your 'mistake', but it doesn't matter if it's a mistake, it still happened!" Shinn broke away and came back, this time striking downwards with his blade as Kira raised his large sword horizontally to block the attack again.

'Dammit... he's knows and now he's going to come at me with everything... I'm not going to be able to just disable him... I have to beat him... sorry, Shinn...' Kira bounced back from the Impulse and landed on the snow below the two mobile suits, in front of the Uhran, on his suit's two feet as Shinn came right for him.

* * *

"Ugh... ahh!" The soldiers aboard the Uhran's bridge began to freak out and lose themselves as the Noir landed in front of their ship and the Impulse slammed it's beam saber down as the black gundam jumped away, the sound of snow being superheated and melted in an instant, as well as steam rising into the air all that could be seen or heard from at that location.

"Calm down, everyone!" The black suited Captain of the ship commanded. "And maintain fire upon our primary objective!"

* * *

"I'll see this through till you're end! You're not getting away that easily!" Shinn came at the Noir full force, the two suits looking like they were about to clash blades, their respective pilot's SEED mode eyes filled with power and resolve, looking to bring this battle to an end their way when all out of nowhere the two both went 'huh', turned looked away from each other, and pulled away. The Impulse descended to the ground and the Noir ascended into the air as four large beam cannon blasts made ripped their way past the air where the two gundams were before, the Compton-class firing both it's artillery guns at into the distance directly afterwords.

"Alright, that's enough out of you!" Kira declared, aiming his beam rifle right at the Uhran and firing two shots, both of which managed to strike the upper levels of the ship but not the bridge tower itself. "Dammit!" The Ultimate Coordinator unleashed the grenade out of his rifle, a split second later pulling back as the Impulse flew right up and personal from his right and chopped the gun in half with it's beam saber before swinging it in a skillful and offensive manner towards Kira, who pulled back.

"GAHHHH!" The Uhran's crew yelled for their lives as the Noir's rifle-mounted grenade flew right at their ship, striking the area to the right of the bridge, taking out one of it's triple cannons and causing severe, but not critical damage.

"I'm bringing you down for what you've done!" Shinn rushed towards Kira, gundam head to gundam head as he performed a perfect downwards slash with his beam saber, the Noir evading the shot and flipping up into the air, reaching for it's other anti-ship sword and coming back down right towards Shinn, the blade in the Noir's right hand aligned perfectly to cut the Impulse's cockpit.

'I'm sorry, Shinn...' Kira thought as he moved forward, about to get the kill.

'Dammit!' The red eyed pilot momentarily shocked himself before he remembered one thing that he was told today.

_'__A few minutes ago you were smiling because you would finally be given the chance to rush out there and come at Kira Yamato full force and 'claim your revenge'. __When you do this your head will be filled__ with the desire to see him fall at any cost, and when that happens you'll pass the point of no return.__' _The voice of Captain Talia Gladys played in his head via his memories.

'I know what you mean...' He tightened his controls and prepared to do something drastic. "BUT I HAVEN'T REACHED THAT POINT YET!" Just as the Noir took it's swing the Impulse's Core Splendor, Chest Flyer and Force Silhouette separated from the legs, the blade cutting through cold air and doing nothing as Kira passed right by Shinn.

"Huh?" The Ultimate Coordinator looked confused for a second before being pushed forward in his seat, his restraints holding him back as the left wing of the Noir was destroyed, the explosion knocking the black and gray mobile suit forward. "Good move, Shinn..." Kira admitted while recovering, a bit of blood leaking out of his lower right lip. "But two can play at that game!" Kira yelled as he quickly turned around and focused on the reassembled Impulse that was coming for him once again. Dodging blocking another one of Shinn's swings with the sword in his right hand, Kira bounced and backed off, bent the Noir's left arm in and then flung it outwards, launching the anti-ship sword in it directly at the canyon wall around the two of them, the sword burying itself into the cold, rocky surface. "Now stop this!" Kira yelled, extending his free left hand as well as his left foot forward and firing the grapple hook in his palm and foot at the Impulse, the small piece of metal which seemed to have several incredibly miniscule and hard to see beams being emitted from it rushing at the white, blue and red gundam and attaching into it's chest directly above it's right vent as well as it's right knee.

"Shit! Those grapple hooks! I was..." The red eyed pilot swore, trying to cut the cords with his beam saber as he felt his gundam get dragged into a different direction by the Noir, being forcibly twisted around in a circle, headed right for the Noir's sword that was impaled in the canyon wall, the familiar glowing pink beam lined up at the cockpit again. "...errr..." Shinn struggled, attempting to thrust up against the Noir's hold on his suit, managing to ascend just enough so that the blade cut the Force Impulse at the knees, severing them as well as one of the wires. "... waiting for you to use those damn things!" He grunted in anger.

* * *

"Oh... phew..." Meyrin gave off a sigh of relief from the Minerva's bridge, grabbing the Captain's attention so much that she addressed her, but didn't take her eye off of the Archangel as the Zaft vessel's CIWS focused on shooting down missiles headed for it, one of them striking the location where the right wing was attached to the main body and blowing up the two guns there.

"Gah... Meyrin, what is it?" The Captain asked.

"Shinn... he just... how can I say this... dodged death twice in a row?" Meyrin informed.

'So he is taking my advice...' Talia thought quietly.

"But the Impulse took damage to it's legs..."

"Well then send out the spare Leg Flyer! That's what it's there for!" Talia ordered.

"Don't worry... I am..." Meyrin answered as Shinn opened a line directly to her.

"Send out the Sword Silhouette, Meyrin! And hurry, we don't have much time left!"

"Gotcha..." She quickly typed away at her control panel.

"He's right, distance till they reach the coast is about fifteen. Am I right, Bart?" Talia questioned.

"More like ten, ma'am!" Bart informed.

"We're running out of time..." She put her hand on her chin. "Arthur..." Talia grumbled.

"Isolde, fire!" The Executive Officer reacted.

* * *

"The Archangel isn't going to be able to submerge safely if it's being pelted with this much cannon fire!" Kira gritted his teeth together, approaching the leading Compton-class vessel, the Uhran once again, a sword in his right hand and a beam pistol in his left now.

"GAHHHH!" The Uhran's crew yelled for their lives as the black Strike gundam rushed sliced past they're bridge with it's remaining MR-Q10 "Fragarach" 3 beam blade, causing a huge, burning beam gash through the command center and bringing the entire land battleship down in the process as an explosion radiated out of the central bridge tower to all sections of the ship at once.

* * *

"The Uhran... damn! Redouble our efforts... AGAIN! We will not allow that ship to pass through! Now sink it!" Admiral Westenfluss yelled from his bridge.

"Sir!" Many crewmen answered.

"And make sure the same doesn't happen to us! Got that!" Westenfluss continued to yell as the Noir switched it's focus to the fallen land battleship to the land cruiser, which was now headed for right for it. "EVADE, EVADE, EVADE!" He screamed at the tip top of his lungs.

* * *

"Now for you..." Kira fixed his gaze, attempting to sink the Ereni, but being forced to pull back as two "Flash Edge" Beam boomerangs whirled past the Noir's chest before smashing into the other side of the canyon, breaking away a large chunk of rock that would fall to the ground. At the same time Kira moved back as he raised his remaining anti-ship sword into the air to block the Impulse, which had transformed now into it's white, red and black β Sword variant.

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" **_A certain raven haired teen yelled, his machine heading right for the Noir from above it and to the right, it's two Excaliburs combined end-to-end and raised over it's head as he swung down on the Noir, which used it's much smaller blade to try to block the attack, the two swords slamming together and flying to the ground. Inside the handle of the Noir's blade however it looked as if some of the metal inside was getting a little stressed from the vast magnitude of the momentum that had been transferred to it.

"Grr... ugh..." Kira groaned as the Noir landed on it's two feet directly on the cold snow, the Impulse pressing it's attack as Kira's SEED mode eyes seemed to snap a little, looking a little like Shinn's when he would be angry. _**"ARRRRRRRRR!"**_ Kira placed the left hand guard of the Noir onto the back of his blade and forced used the extra strength to force the Impulse back, kicking the other machine in gut quickly with his left foot before jumping away using his right leg. 'I've got to get back... the Archangel should be preparing to dive about now...'

"Gulp... guh..." Shinn stabilized the Sword Impulse, preventing it from falling over, but at a cost. He felt that kick to his suit right in his gut, personally. "Damn you, you bastard!" He grinned, some blood leaking from his left nostril as he noticed the Noir evade some shots from two TFA-4DE GAZuOOTs that were sitting on the Ereni's deck in tank mode, firing the beam pistol he had in his left hand at the ship, taking out the two triple artillery guns that were mounted on it with amazing accuracy.

'I've got to go... NOW! That will at least let the Archangel dive without as much trouble...' Kira thought to himself, gaining distance on the Sword Impulse and ascending above the canyon. 'Although while I'm at it...' he began to take pot shots at some of the BABIs that were still in the air tormenting the Archangel from above.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Distance to the coast: five!" Neumann kept a firm grip on the vessel's controls while he continued to avoid the bombardment of missiles and beam fire from the Minerva, now the only ship that was capable of truly being a threat to the fleeing Archangel.

"Shake them off! Now!" Murrue commanded as multi-phase canon shot from a BABI struck the port side hanger bay door.

"Where's... Kira?" A still tired Cagalli asked as two explosions, coming from a pair of purple BABI's lit up the sky above them. "Kira... come back!" She looked to see two small figures, one of them black and gray, and the other red and white engage beam fire. "Shinn... why are you..." She mumbled to herself as a couple more purple figures approached from a distance.

"CAPTAIN!" Mirallia screamed from her station.

"What is it?" Murrue turned her head to face the girl with all due haste.

"Detecting two vessels about ten kilometers away from the coast... Aegis Mk.2-class... they're sending us a message." Mirallia began.

"What is it?" Murrue asked.

"Were they send by Todaka?" Cagalli added to the number of questions for the teen.

"Yes... escort vessels from the main fleet... they know we're in trouble and they're asking for orders." Miriallia explained as Murrue slammed her right fist onto it's armrest.

"Perfect; right on time... have them **PELT **the entire area with jamming shells and then turn right around and head back to the Takemikazuchi at full speed. We'll be underwater. Now hurry!" The Captain ordered, the scene shifting to show the two Aegis Mk.2-class warships each fire their three 250mm rapid fire guns, the sea and airspace in front of the Archangel becoming yellow and glowing as the sensors were jammed. 'We'll give them a taste of their own medicine...'

* * *

"Dammit... I don't have the time to be dealing with you right now!" Kira yelled with anger from his suit's cockpit, the Strike Noir, Sword Impulse, and two BABIs flying just above the canyon above the battlefield, the Noir itself dodging a beam rifle shot from the Impulse by strafing to it's right before descending in a dive to block a barrage of missiles from the BABIs, the projectiles missing his machine and circling back as he landed the Noir on top of the mountain with it's hands and bounced back up, the missiles striking the face of the mountain and exploding. "I said I don't have time!" He pulled out both of his beam pistols and aimed one to his left, tilting it upwards and the other to his right and fired, the green beam shots striking both BABIs in the chest and bringing them down.

"Too bloody bad then, eh!" Shinn roared with vigor as the Noir turned and tried to head toward the Archangel, approaching the edge of the land.

"Shinn!" Kira turned around to evade two beam shots from Shinn, one of them taking out the pistol in his right hand right at it's tip while.

"I'm the one who's going to defeat you, Kira! Right here, right now! You've evaded the reaper for far too long, and I'm here to collect his debt!"

* * *

Minerva:

"Gladys, you've let them get away! You were too soft!" Admiral Westenfluss berated the blonde as his face appeared on one of the Minerva's communication screens.

'Let them get away? Oh just watch me you son of a bitch...' She thought to herself, a look of utter disgust on her brow. "Arthur, activate Tannhauser, and target the Archangel!" She boldly commanded, the Executive Officer pausing for a second and then listening.

"Uh... yes ma'am. Activating Tannhauser..." The bow shutter of the Minerva activated and lifted open, the snow and ice that had formed on the vessel's cold exterior being broken around the seal as the gun came fourth and lit up.

"And be sure they do not shoot down the main gun. They still have one of their Linear Cannons up and running!" Talia warned.

"On it, Captain." Arthur replied.

"Yes ma'am." Malik stated.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Seal emergency bulkheads! Prepare for underwater navigation!" Murrue frantically ordered as the four hundred and twenty meter long ship began to cross over into the sea from the land.

"Yes ma'am." Dalida answered, the entire ship rocking forward, the sound of an explosion coming from the port rear. "Valiant two is down!"

"Kira... Kira where is he?" Cagalli asked the Captain.

"Kira will be fine!" Waltfeld tried to sate the Princess' request.

"I'm not detecting the Noir... the jamming shells are blocking it!"

"Dammit!" Cagalli got out of her seat quickly, her eyes seeming to have transformed from normal... into SEED mode eyes. "Captain, get the Rouge ready. I'm going out."

"Sit down!" Murrue ordered as Cagalli grunted, walking past.

"I'm going out whether you let me or not! Kira's in trouble out there! Now get the Rouge ready!" She stormed off the bridge of her own free will, the Archangel landing in the sea and forcing tons upon tons of water up into the air in accordance with Newton's Third Law, the Minerva not so far behind, it's positron cannon at the ready.

* * *

Kira made his way over the cliff but from what he was reading on his sensors he knew that the Minerva was going to get it's shot off before he could reach the Archangel or even get in beam pistol range to shoot down the gun. "Dammit!" He quickly descended and made a right turn, going along the coastline to ensure that he wouldn't be destroyed by the Tannhauser.

"Think fast, murderous jackass!" Shinn yelled, the Sword Impulse appearing behind the Noir and pulling out one of it's Excalibur's, gripping it with both hands, spinning around counter clockwise in a full circle and then whipping it at the Noir with all of his gundam's might. Kira's reaction to this was to reach for his remaining MR-Q10 "Fragarach" 3 beam blade with his right hand and try to block or deflect the attack. As the larger sword closed in, Shinn grabbed his remaining MMI-710 "Excalibur" anti-ship sword and charged forward with it, right for the Noir.

"Gah... ahh!" Kira screamed, slashing at the thrown blade with his own blade. However, the sheer force of Shinn's throw managed to force the Noir's anti-ship sword over the edge, breaking the inner workings of the blade inside the handle that went up and down as the sword was drawn, snapping the Fragarach 3 at the handle as the flying Excalibur went right through the Strike Noir's damaged right arm and wing, cutting them off the main body as Shinn closed the gap at a quickening pace.

* * *

The Archangel continued to dive underwater, the two Aegis Mk.2-class ships somewhere behind it fleeing away from the coast as the Minerva prepared it's final blow.

"Hurry, we can't let them get underwater!" Arthur stated with urgency while Gladys remained quiet.

'I'm sorry it had to come to this...' She thought, opening her jaw after. "Fire!" The powered up Tannhauser unleashed it's gigantic red and white anti-matter beam into the Mediterranean Sea, the blast striking _something _and reacting with it, creating an explosive reaction of enormous proportions, a large shock wave emanating from the area, capsizing both Aegis Mk.2-class ships in an instant and forcing the Minerva to turn and brace for the wave.

* * *

"_**RAAAAAARRRRGGGGG!"**_ Shinn charged forward full speed with the Sword Impulse, his remaining Excalibur in hand, aligned right for the cockpit of the one-armed Strike Noir, which had it's left arm off to the side helplessly.

"_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ Kira screamed in reaction to this, his SEED mode eyes wide in despair as he saw the Impulse charge forward.

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_ Shinn continued to yell at the top of his lungs; as loud as his voice could be. 'Mom... Dad... Mayu... this is for you!' He thought, the long anti-ship sword's beam extending over it's tip, crashing into the Strike Noir's chest dead on in the cockpit hatch and exiting the black gundam through the it's back as it's thruster began to flicker off bit by bit, until they went dead for good and the phase shift seeming to weaken and die to a dull gray as the Sword Impulse remained in position, the Strike Noir defeated and impaled by it's might, rain from the Tannhauser reaction pelting down upon the two gundams...

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Phase 34: Gathering Strength and Trust

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Author's Note: I'm just going to quote one of my favorite youtubers on the requests I got last chapter, both about Arthur and Talia, as well as some Kira=Sven fic. Keep in mind, anyone who knows TotalBiscuit realizes he can be a bit of a jerk at times (so can I), but I belief he gets the point across, even that it's a bit harsh: _"Wanna explain how he is offering my the opportunity to "surpass myself" by being one voice amongst hundreds of thousands shouting "stop making videos of these kind of games?"._

_Yet again it's the "ALL__FEEDBACK IS SUPER VALUABLE" fallacy. No it isn't. I don't take requests, never have, never will and this is why. One outside person does not get to dictate the direction of the channel at the expense of everyone else, nobody runs their business in that way." _

Granted, I'll take requests on two conditions: 1) I specifically ask for them **beforehand **and 2) It's not really a request, but a suggestion made by one of my close contacts on this site who I've exchanged many a PM with... you guys know who you are. With that in mind I don't know yet about the fates of Talia Gladys nor Arthur Trine.

For those of you who actually analyzed the chapter and posted reviews that described how you liked it, you have my greatest thanks.

**Also... **I have gone back and edited the vector for the ORB-04 Judicator I made some time ago in order to fix some of the proportions on it. You can find the link to my deviant art profile in my fanfiction profile.

**Lastly, **like one of the chapters of _Logos' Last Stand_ if you are going to post a review, read one section of the chapter, and then write something down, and then go back. This is one of those chapters where there is no fighting but there is a lot of other stuff, like character development as well.

* * *

Now... how did things end off last episode, oh yes...

"_"******RAAAAAARRRRGGGGG!" **Shinn charged forward full speed with the Sword Impulse, his remaining Excalibur in hand, aligned right for the cockpit of the one-armed Strike Noir, which had it's left arm off to the side helplessly._

_"_**__****NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **_Kira screamed in reaction to this, his SEED mode eyes wide in despair as he saw the Impulse charge forward._

_"_**__****AHHHHHHHHHHH!" **_Shinn continued to yell at the top of his lungs; as loud as his voice could be. 'Mom... Dad... Mayu... this is for you!' He thought, the long anti-ship sword's beam extending over it's tip, crashing into the Strike Noir's chest dead on in the cockpit hatch and exiting the black gundam through the it's back as it's thruster began to flicker off bit by bit, until they went dead for good and the phase shift seeming to weaken and die to a dull gray as the Sword Impulse remained in position, the Strike Noir defeated and impaled by it's might, rain from the Tannhauser reaction pelting down upon the two gundams..."_

* * *

Gibraltar, five days later:

"So that's how it all went down, if I'm hearing you correctly, right?" One of two Zaft red suited, FAITH Insignia wearing pilots asked another red suit, who was not wearing a Special Forces badge, as the three of them relaxed in one of the lobbies in the base's main building. The soldier who had inquired was none other than the standing, long haired blonde known as Rey Za Burrel, and the one being inquired upon was Shinn Asuka, a teen of sixteen with ruffled raven hair and red eyes, and was currently resting on one of the benches in the room.

"Yeah, you got that right. That's exactly how I managed to pull it off in the end." Shinn answered, holding his right hand out in front of his body and clenching his fist, a satisfied smirk present on his young lips.

"Well then, I think I feel the need to congratulate you for your efforts." Rey stuck out his right hand. "Well done, Shinn." The Impulse's pilot grasped the extended hand and shook it. "A task done well indeed." The blonde added, the sound of an angered groan coming from somewhere nearby, and causing Shinn to turn towards it's source, lose his smirk and instead exchange it for a frown of discontent.

"Oh, and what are you so angry about, _Command__er Zala_" Shinn questioned the bluenette that was about seven feet away from them, with his back turned and his arms crossed, his verdant eyes reflecting the mood of contempt that was currently washing over his being. "I was given a task; a mission, and I carried it out to the best of my abilities, in addition to taking revenge for myself... and if you could see it from my perspective, _for you too, _seeing how badly the damage to the Savior was after encountering his machine." The raven haired teen tried to speak in the most objective voice he could muster.

'Why you...' Athrun thought, knowing that Shinn was speaking the way he was so as to get a rise out of Athrun in some way, before quickly turning around and closing the distance between him and the sitting pilot from seven feet to three in the blink of an eye. "Tell me again what the name of that operation was, will you? Huh? What was it?"

"Operation Angel Capture." Shinn crossed his arms.

"And what were the mission's objectives?"

"To either capture or destroy the Archangel. Don't try to lecture me on something like this after I've already completed the task and have been thanked by my superior officers." Shinn puffed.

"'To either capture or destroy the Archangel'? And those orders also applied to the Strike Noir from what I heard right?" Athrun asked, the tone of his voice still that of a controlled anger.

"Yup." Shinn spoke neutrally, while Rey felt the tension between the two pilots. It was a bomb waiting to go off, he thought. Still, he remained on the sidelines, observing, with not a shred of emotion on his face.

"Then... why didn't you capture it? The Noir? Why did you destroy it?" Athrun asked, pausing for a just a short second, enough time to take a breath but cut off Shinn from answering. "While you were racing towards your target... full speed with that blasted anti-ship sword held in your unit's arms... the Noir was practically helpless. From what you've said both it's wings and it's right arm had been destroyed, yet you decided to destroy it rather than capture it? WHY?" Shinn stood up, expressing his short height advantage over Athrun.

"Because... for one, that was what I was assigned to do and two... I have my own personal reasons."

"And so you would just kill Kira like that? Is that it? Revenge? Is that what you really wanted?"

"**Yes it damn well was**, **Athrun Zala!**"

"You bastard! Do you even think that Kira was trying to kill you?" Athrun questioned, causing Shinn to step forward a little.

"From what I felt during that fight... oh yes, he damn well was trying to kill me! Don't you dare try to use that against me! If anything what I performed was an act of self defense against a lethal opponent!"

"Self defense? _Self defense?_ Only because you came after him relentlessly!"

"So? You're getting mad at me because I carried out the orders that were given to me by Fleet Command Headquarters! Stop your whining!" Shinn raged.

"My whining? Shut your mouth, Shinn! Kira didn't need to die out there! You were in the perfect position to take his machine yet you killed him in cold blood! All for revenge! Like a sick, twisted **murderer!" **

"Murderer? Murderer? He was an enemy of Zaft and I was tasked with bringing him down and I did just that! If anything, he's the murderer, because of what he did to me!" Shinn tried to explain as Athrun quickly raised his arms and grabbed Shinn's suit by the undone collars.

"Does it make you happy that you shot him down? Does it make you proud? What was the point, huh?" Athrun questioned, brimming with rage as Shinn adjusted his gaze, red eyes to green ones.

"And why shouldn't I be happy, huh? I managed to defeat the undefeated; to best a foe that has never been bested before, not even BY YOU! So tell me, what should I be doing right now? Should I be crying like a pathetic little baby? Should I be praying for forgiveness from the Cult of Kira Jesus Yamato back in ORB who worship their Prince like he's some sort of demigod?"

"Like something like that even exists! You and your sick, twisted mind!"

"So what, I made it up to prove my bloody point! I beat a powerful enemy! By all means, tell me, why shouldn't I feel good about myself?" Shinn inquired, still held by the collar via Athrun's tight, coordinator grip.

"Why... ugh..." Athrun tried to stated as Rey attempted to step in.

"Shinn..." The blonde said, his efforts proving to be of no avail as raven haired teen simply ignored him.

"You know, one has to even question why you're even in Zaft in the first place, if all you're going to do is complain about the things we do around here, such as Operation Angel Capture. You probably had it better back at ORB with that tomboyish bitch, and even if you had stayed then she probably wouldn't be in this mess, nor her asshole brother." Athrun growled as Shinn explained. "But you had to come back to us, and now look at you. I have a question for you Athrun: Seeing as all you've done is managed to do is pilot the Savior in a slightly above average manner while on the Minerva, get your sorry ass handed to you by the Strike Noir, and then blow up _yet another _machine... I wonder why you're in front of me right now, with that badge?" Shinn let out a little roar.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Athrun asked, looking at Shinn with an even angrier set of eyes.

"Why don't you leave me alone and go out there and do something spectacular? Why don't you... I don't know **EARN YOUR RANK FOR ONCE, ATHRUN ZALA?" **The bluenette felt a small amount of spit collide with the his left cheek, and that set him off.

"Why you..." Athrun growled as he let go of Shinn and pulled back his right arm before punching the younger pilot square in the gut.

"Ugh... ah..." Shinn cried in agony from the punch, which definitely felt like it was from a coordinator as he was pushed back, falling down onto the bench behind him, the momentum from his body almost knocking it over, but not quite. "Bastard..."

"... Son of a..." Both dark haired soldiers spoke in unison as Athrun tried to close the gap between himself and Shinn, but Rey stepped in the way.

"Stop it, both of you! You are military personal of the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty and this is inappropriate behavior!" He stretched out his arms, forming a barrier between the two.

"Rey... stop it... let me at..." Shinn raged like a wild bull, attempting to get up as Rey turned specifically towards him, some light from either the outdoors or the lights above the three of them glistening and reflecting off of Rey's silver and gold FAITH badge, the metallic shimmer causing Shinn to huff at the authority.

"Shinn... I think it would be better if you went to your room right now, before someone other than me finds out about this situation and gets us all in trouble."

"Dammit... he punched me and now you're telling...!"

"That wasn't a request!" Rey spoke sternly, his voice confident.

"Gah... fine then... then promise me nothing will come of this..."

"If you go now, then nothing will." Rey informed as Shinn gave the two a disgruntled glare, aimed specifically at Athrun, who had seemed to just have doused his temper as the raven haired boy walked away.

'Rey has close connections with the Chairman anyway... if he's offering me a chance to get away from this nonsense then I guess I'd better take it, rather than suffer the consequences...' Shinn thought, feeling his cheek that Gladys had slapped just before Operation Angel Capture began.

"Rey!" Athrun looked the blonde in the eyes.

"Athrun, I can't order you around like I can Shinn... but can I talk to you about something? Please? As a friend, and as a fellow soldier?" Rey requested, causing Athrun to let go of the remaining tension in his body.

"Sure, let's talk near the window." The two of them motioned towards the large window that gave them a view of the area outside; of Gibraltar itself. Right now they were standing alone in on one of the upper floors of one of the bigger buildings, as indicated by the distance between them and the ground below. It was a sunny day outside with a few clouds in the area, and from what it looked like, Zaft was preparing for something big. Many mobile suits, ranging from transformable BABIs to GOUF Igniteds, and ZAKU Warriors were moving around the base carefully. Out in the sea however things were equally as hectic, with many Vosgulov-class submarines moving into the docks, taking in mobile suits, and getting resupplied. The Minerva was there as well, and it also seemed like several Alliance ships were headed towards Gibraltar, although they didn't look to be hostile.

"I know Shinn can be rather... 'stingy' at times with his words, but I'll tell you right now you have proved your rank in Zaft ten times over at this point, even by that one action that took place at Sextillus." Rey explained.  
"I don't need your words to comfort me, Rey. I know Shinn is just being himself right now. Tell me, what do you really want to discuss with me?" Athrun questioned, turning towards the younger pilot.

"You know that you are a soldier of Zaft, right?"

"Of course." Athrun replied calmly.

"Then you know that the homeland gave the Minerva orders to engage and possibly destroy both the Archangel and the Strike Noir. Shinn... succeeded admirably at the task he was given, and although he does have an attitude problem, he should be commended for his actions. It's when you criticize him like that that his anger becomes an issue." Rey began.

"I know... but there's no good reason why Kira had to be shot down." Athrun's words expressed a hidden, deep concern. "Captain Gladys even kept that plaque from ORB on the Minerva's bridge... Kira and the Archangel... I know I'm a soldier of Zaft, but I didn't consider them our true enemy, not in the face of Logos, which is where are efforts should very much be focused right now!"

"I agree, Logos is the greater threat at this point, which is why we're making preparations for the next big attack. However, if our nations says that the ORB Military, whether it be the force that attacked with the Alliance Fleet, or the vessels taken by their Princess and the Archangel, are our enemies... then they are _our _enemies, and it's as simple as that. That is because we are soldiers of Zaft... and who is or is not our enemy changes according to which side you're on, and it varies from one individual to another. It's all relative... you know this, do you not? There are no absolutes. We are soldiers of Zaft, and we must abide by the decisions that the Chairman and the Council make. They are the ones who decide who is an enemy or an ally, not us. That is not our decision to make. We signed away that right when we took upon ourselves the uniforms that we now use to cover our own flesh." Rey finished, yet despite his words, Athrun was not looking at him, rather, out the window.

"You tell me this... as if I don't already know it... but let me make myself very clear right now... I know that the decision of who is my friend and who is my foe is not mine to make... not when you look at the larger scale." Athrun said in a calm and quiet manner.

"Oh, and then why did you talk to Shinn, the way you did?"

"Did you not notice what I was getting on his case about? About how he didn't capture the Noir?" Athrun then turned to Rey. "That is my issue with Shinn... because he didn't capture Kira." He explained, causing Rey to tense up slightly at the very mention of the word 'Kira', although not by any noticeable amount. "During the First Bloody Valentine War I was confused after the death of Nicol Amalfi, I'll admit... but after I fought Kira... during my period of recovery in the PLANTs, I spoke to her... to Lacus. She made me question just what it was I was doing... and in the end I ended up defecting from Zaft to the Three Ship's Alliance. My father's actions... in the end they were too much to bear, and I do not regret making that decision, even for a second. However, this war is different from the other one; from the first one. I know what Zaft and the Chairman are trying to accomplish and I agree with his objectives... however Kira... oh Kira..." He put his right hand on his forehead in agony. "Kira... you were a hopeless fool..."

"And why exactly are you calling him that, Athrun?" Rey questioned, tilting his head down so as to stare into Athrun's eyes.

"Because, if Kira was in our inner circle... if he didn't treat his bond of blood with Cagalli and her sanctimonious ideals like it was an unbreakable seal and decided to think for himself rather then just follow her... if he knew what I know... and if he had spoken to the Chairman..." His vocal tone began to shift from one of sadness to one of pride and a hint of arrogance. "Then I can guarantee you right now that he would be on our side, fighting with us for a common goal... not off on his own. And with Kira fighting with you and I, against Logos and the Earth Alliance... then Zaft would have no trouble ending this war victoriously. Now... it looks like that won't be an option..." He gave the window a very light punch. "All thanks to Shinn..." He groaned.

'I have to admit, having the Legendary Kira Yamato... as a soldier of Zaft, as a fellow comrade sounds too good to be true right now. If that were to happen, then our chances of coming out of this war as the dominant faction would not be a matter of 'if we will', but a matter of 'when we will'. You've raised a good point, Athrun.' Rey thought to himself as silence filled the room that the two were in.

"I learned something about Kira during our time as allies in the first war, and that is that Kira fights for what is _right_. Objectively and absolute... that is his drive, just like me. Rey, you may say that there is some degree of relativism when it comes to who you shoot at or who you bandage, and that may be right, but underlining it all... on a moral level, that relativity does not bear any truth about reality... none whatsoever. What we're doing right now... is for the true good... if only Kira had known. He's a living tragedy... or rather... 'was'."

"I know, Athrun..." Rey responded, the two remaining silent for about fifteen seconds afterwords before Athrun began to speak once more.

"You know, for all my moaning... I may just very well be wrong... and I may have gotten mad over nothing." Athrun began, composing himself and standing up straight once more.

"Oh, and why do you say that? Do you think the Alliance has something up their sleeve that we've yet to see? Something that even not even you, nor Kira Yamato could handle, even combined?" Rey questioned.

"Swing and miss... Rey. It has nothing to do with the Alliance. It has to do with Shinn, and the legitimacy of his so-called 'victory'." Athrun said sharply and with some degree of acidity in his throat.

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked, now completely confused.

"I fought the Strike Noir at the Dardanelles... and fought the best of my abilities, yet the Savior fell and all Kira suffered was the lose of one of his beam rifles. With that in mind..." Athrun turned around, away from the window and began to walk away, his back to Rey. "_With that in mind there's not a snowball's chance in hell that Shinn Asuka __of all people __could have __even hoped to __**come close**__ to laying a single scratch upon the Strike Noir's phase shift armor, not considering what I was able to do to it... or rather, not do to it!_" Athrun finished in a rather crude and somewhat cocksure manner. "He's still probably dead though, given the circumstances." He stated bitterly. "Come on, let's check on our machines. Apparently they're supposed to be arriving shortly."

"Indeed." Rey answered neutrally and objectively, following along.

* * *

In the meantime the entire base was a bustling hub of activity. Mobiles suits were arriving via aircraft every few minutes and it seemed like there was not one that wasn't busy.

"Thermal signatures of all machines are being carried out on all platforms. IFF setup is in hangers 'C' and 'D'."  
"Message from port control." An announcer started as the Alliance ships closed in on the base. "Incoming Earth Forces vessels are friendly ships joining us from the Republic of East Asia. Status Blue. Cancel alert status, I repeat, cancel alert status."

At the same time, the Minerva was going though the final stages of her repairs after her previous battle with the Archangel. The port side deck, which had suffered damage during the battle was the site where repairs were being heavily concentrated, although that's not to say the rest of the ship was getting a tune up here or there.

"What a site... who would have thought so many from the Alliance would have shown up?" Arthur asked as he stood by the Captain on the raised bridge, looking out the glass window at the arriving vessels.

"Yes... but truth be told, this is making me feel a little nervous." Talia replied.

"That's for sure, ma'am. We've been trained to think of them as our enemies for such a long time now." Malik replied, standing by the two commanding officers.

"Absolutely. Gibraltar would be wiped out if they decided to betray us all at once." Arthur informed casually, causing Talia to nearly drop the glass she was holding.

"WHAT? Oh, for... Arthur... think before you open your mouth!"

"Sorry... um... ma'am..." He apologized as the blonde sighed.

"Everyone's on edge as it is, especially with this upcoming operation. Even if we destroy Heaven's Base, and the Logos who are sure to flee there, our problems will still have just begun. I really wonder if we'll be able to easily eliminate Logos... given the circumstances." She explained, looking out towards the bow of the ship as the starboard side catapult door opened up, a platform extending from the dock onto the ship itself. Off in the distance, four gray machines that looked to be gundam-types were headed for the Minerva. "Although, given the new found strength our vessel is acquiring, I think the Chairman is pretty confident in our abilities at this point in time."

* * *

Minerva Hanger Bay:

Vino Dupre and Yolan Kent stood side by side with their heads tilted upwards and their glazed eyes wide open, and their mouths looking as if drool would soon be descending from them.

"Whoa..."  
"Oh my god... I can't believe it..."

"The newest models... produced by the Integrated Design Bureau..." Vino tried to speak as the two looked upon the four machines present in the hanger bay, docked in place. In the meantime, some place above them on one of the balcony's, four red suits walked into the hanger, each of them wearing a FAITH badge and in a group together. Sighing, one of the FAITH soldiers was the first to speak.

"There they are..." Athrun closed his eyes for a second as one of his friends placed his right hand on the bluenette's shoulder.

"What? It's not like this is the first time we've seen them. Remember... a couple of hours before we left Aprilius One?" Heine questioned.

"Yeah Athrun... although, it's good to be back on the Minerva again... I'm surprised to see that my machine can actually be docked in the bay, seeing as how... grand it is..." Lunamaria explained in a blissful manner.

"Indeed... well then, it appears we may have some admirers... I say we head downstairs and say hello." Rey suggested, looking down at the two teen engineers below them.

"Yeah... let's go..." Athrun said as the four of them made their way towards the lower level. At the same time a certain Red Knight couldn't help remember what happened in the events leading up to when he when he met his new machine, face to face.

* * *

-Flashback-

Aprilius One, two days after the completion of Operation Angel Capture. Word was quick to come back to the PLANTs and be spread around the military quickly regarding how it all went down. At this point in time Athrun Zala was sitting in the lobby just outside of Chairman Gilbert Durandal's office. His injuries had just managed to heal over and he was allowed out of the hospital only hours ago, however on his way out he was confronted with orders to go directly to Durandal's office at a specific time so that he could have a private conversation with the man. Seeing as orders are orders and he himself was a FAITH member who took orders directly from the Council and Chairman, Athrun obliged. Despite this he was rather shocked when he found himself walking through the Government Center of Aprilius One, where he was informed of the results of Operation Angel Capture firsthand from some other soldiers and politicians.

It was shocking, to say the least, that Zaft would have gone after the Archangel and the Strike Noir but it wasn't shocking enough to scare Athrun out of his black boots. He knew from the Dardanelles that even though Kira and the others were not trying to be Zaft's enemy, they were still waving the banner of the ORB Union, the nation that had allowed several colonies to be destroyed in the first nuclear strike, and had used some sort of highly advanced decide to outright block a Neutron Stampeder's gamma radiation burst wave. He wanted to speak with the Chairman afterwords, but he would have to wait, even though he had an appointment, for apparently Durandal was making an emergency broadcast around the world at this point in time, in response to how his anti-Logos campaign was being received. Waiting outside the office, Athrun watched Durandal's speech from one of the televisions mounted outside. He watched, and he waited for his chance to speak.

"Well now, Mr. Chairman, let's see what this is all about." The bluenette leaned back in one of the waiting chairs as Durandal began.

"I have no intention of deploying our military in pursuit of the people I've listed... not at first. That is not what I meant when I said we must defeat Logos. I merely wish to end this system of perpetual wars..."

"... it is madness..." Durandal announced, with Athrun mumbling the same words to himself.

"...and we must bring it to an end." Durandal continued.

* * *

In the meantime, a large mansion somewhere in Eurasia was being bombarded by tank shells and rifle fire from outside, two Earth Alliance soldiers inside behind walls for cover.

"Dammit!"

"You're the ones being used! The coordinators are just..." The other soldier yelled before turning and looking out the window, only to be shot down instantly.

* * *

"Why do you think that coordinators should not exist? That we are monsters that you can never reach an understanding with?" Durandal asked. "The real question is, who started saying those things in the first place? To me, the members of Logos who endorse these and other atrocious acts are the real monsters." Images of the Lodonia Lab, as well as the attacks that the PLANTs had suffered over the first years of the current decade began to to be displayed. "Everything they do is designed to wipe up fervor for the war against us." The bombardment of Boaz... the destruction of Junius Seven, and the second time GENESIS fired, aimed at the Moon, flashed before people's eyes as they stared unto the screen. "If they are told they are in danger, people will fight back... it's instinct. That is why they attack us, forcing us to fire back. Our history is ripe with such bitter encounters. What use are weapons if there is no war? Unless they tear down old buildings they cannot build new ones. Unless they scorch our fields they cannot make the starving people buy their food."

Athrun simply nodded, remaining silent.

"A world at peace is not profitable. It cannot be manipulated. Therefore they will never cease their attempts at forcing us to fight." Durandal stood up from his seat, and with great vigor, announced his intentions. "Let us end this madness once and for all! The truth is we do not want to kill each other, now do we? People can live without these enormous stockpiles of weapons, and I am certain that they can live without this endless fighting as well! Let us fight common ground and join in discussion, so that we may finally escape this world of conflict that they have fashioned for us."

* * *

Several armed men rushed into what appeared to be a large and expensive countryside home, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"LORD DJIBRIL!"

"HE'S THE LEADER OF BLUE COSMOS!"

"GET HIM! BRING HIM OUT!" One of the men demanded, shooting a security camera inside the building as a certain CEO braced himself inside his lair.

"DAMMIT! How could this go so wrong? Durandal, you will pay... MARK MY WORDS!" Djibril yelled as he quickly ran towards the exit, the fluffy black cat known as Paladin following him as several other Logos members began to open up communication lines to express their concerns.

"Djibril... do something!"

"Lord Djibril you have to help me! The mobs have reached my mansion!"

"Something must be done at once!"

* * *

However once all was said in done the television crews were quick to leave the Chairman's Office, and a certain man with long black hair came out to personally greet the Red Knight as the two sat at the large desk inside.

"I must congratulate you on a swift and hasty recovery, Athrun. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting but from what I've been told, it was an emergency. Down on Earth the people seem to be ready to tear their entire planet apart because of what I said... and something like that is the complete antithesis of my goals." Durandal explained.

"Understandable... and besides, it was good to finally be out of the hospital after all that time. I could have waited a little longer to see you as long as I wasn't bedridden." Athrun responded as Durandal messed around on his computer scene for a while.

"So you know... you have to have heard about it, right?"

"Know about... what? Operation Angel Capture? Yes, I heard from several eager ones in the main lobby a while back. I was quite surprised to be honest."

"Surprised?" Durandal cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you would have more to say about that then surprised?" He looked Athrun square in the eyes and ceased all activity on his computer terminal. "Tell me, Athrun... do you disagree with that decision? To go after the Archangel, I mean?" He asked as the Red Knight lowered his head and let out an indecisive sigh.

"Yes... and no. I agree with it because they are from ORB, a nation that had committed several actions of violence against our own during this war... several actions that I myself am in disagreement with."

"And for what reasons would you be against the operation?"

"Because you gave the order to outright destroy the Archangel and the Strike Noir, did you not?"

"False." Durandal replied sharply, causing Athrun to flinch back into his chair. "Were you simply told that they shot down both that ship and the mobile suit it deployed, or did someone tell you about the mission's objectives?" Durandal asked, left arm prepared to reach into his desk drawer.

"I was told that the Minerva, as well as the Ereni and Uhran, two Compton-class land cruisers were given to orders to destroy the Archangel. Although it was from a friend of mine that I hadn't seen since the academy and we were just passing by quickly." Athrun explained as Durandal snapped his right hand.

"Here... read this." He stated, pulling out a piece of paper, placing it flat on his desk, turning it around one hundred and eighty degrees and then finally sliding it over to Athrun. "Read it, the orders sent to the Minerva from Fleet Command Headquarters. I knew when I talked with you I might have this problem, and so I prepared for it." Durandal stated as the FAITH pilot quickly scanned over the document before putting it down.

"Orders to either capture them or shoot them down? Then again I was skeptical when I heard the name of the mission was Angel Capture, not Angel Down." He stated in a calm manner as Durandal nodded in agreement. "If that's the case, then I wish I was there to talk with them then. Ask them why they wouldn't surrender? Surely something could have been arranged? What, are they just going to sit out there in the Mediterranean until they run out supplies? Their sea bound vessels can't move past Gibraltar or Suez so what's the point?" Athrun complained.

"I have no idea, but there's something else you should know... something... a lot more... grim." He typed away at his computer again and then turned the screen to show Athrun what was on it. Displayed before the Red Knight was a thermal image, probably taken from an AWACS DINN, that covered an area above the Mediterranean. On it were numerous blips indicated heat signatures from mobile suits and ships. "We received this intel last night." He began to point at several of the dots on the map. "This group right here is the ORB fleet." He said, pointing to where there were several dots of different sizes. Some of them were very small and weak, as in blue and green, but still large enough to be identified as ships, and some of them were larger but clearly the result of a vessel's main reactor. However there were two larger blips also on the screen, but they were not entirely the same. "We've identified some of these thermal signatures as having had belonged to Seldamis-class submarines as well as Aegis Mk.2-class warships..." He pointed towards the smaller blips. "These two... however..."

"The Archangel and Takemikazuchi..." Athrun gulped.

"Indeed. I have to inform you right now... after Operation Angel Capture was complete the Minerva as well as the forces under Admiral Westenfluss performed a thorough sweep of the surrounding waters, searching for the Archangel's wreckage..."

"And they didn't find any... Captain Ramius managed to get away as she's always done, right?" Athrun questioned as Durandal nodded again. "So this group is their fleet... what about these other vessels?" Athrun pointed towards the other group of heat signatures, which was around double the size of the ORB Fleet's.

"Earth Alliance ships, from Suez no less." Durandal informed coldly as Athrun quickly stood up and turned away from Durandal, his face starting to turn red with anger.

"And so let me guess? They destroyed the ORB fleet?"

"We cannot be certain as our AWACS was found and shot down by another mobile suit... however when another arrived upon the same location... there was nothing left. Gibraltar says they searched the surrounding area and waters and failed to find anything afterwords." Durandal said as Athrun turned around and slammed his right fist upon the Chairman's desk, although Gilbert himself kept cool.

"Dammit! Those damned idiot! Err..." He groaned in frustration before taking his seat once again. "I'm sorry, but their stupidity and stubbornness at times appalls me to no end! If only they had surrendered... they wouldn't have been sunk by the Earth Alliance."

"How do you know they were sunk, Athrun? What makes you so sure of that conclusion?" Durandal questioned.

"It's not a difficult one to make, Chairman. Think about it... we're talking about the Earth Alliance of all people... of course they were going to sink the Archangel, Takemikazuchi and the ORB fleet after what had happened! They spare no one... not even the innocents."

"I know what you mean... quite well..." Durandal sighed, turning the monitor back towards himself and messing around with his terminal controls again.

"It makes me wonder..."

"Huh?"

"It makes me wonder just what kind of machine I'm going to be assigned next... I want to get back out there... back into the fight... after all that's happened." Athrun admitted, clenching his left fist somewhat in anger.

"You're next machine... Athrun... it is not in question what kind of mobile suit it is... but what is in question is... are you going to be allowed to pilot it?" Durandal faced the Ace FAITH pilot once again as Athrun leaned back in his seat, surprised somewhat.

"What... what do you mean?" The Red Knight asked.

"Athrun... I think it's time I show you something... something I haven't shown you before. After all you've done... I think you've earned my trust."

"Chairman... clarify... if you would." Athrun questioned, clearly perplexed.

"You know full well of our objective now... to rid the world of war... but I have not told you exactly how I am going to bring about that objective, have I not? That is because... in the eyes of some... it could be considered rather extreme." Durandal admitted, trying to maintain his cool. This wasn't going to be something that would be easy to explain, not in the least.

"You told me that whatever you were planning did not involve genocide. If that's the case... then by all means, how can whatever you're planning be considered extreme, in contrast to what everyone else has offered up as some 'grand, final solution' to all of our problems?" Athrun inquired as Durandal turned his screen back over to him, green eyes widening as he read the title of the image he was being shown, which displayed the big, bolded words that were 'Destiny Plan'. "Is this..." He began to read."

"Yes... it is..." Durandal replied as Athrun mumbled under his breath while analyzing the page for about thirty seconds before turning back to the Chairman with a somewhat angered expression on his face. "I've seen... enough."

'And now... here is the part where I am required to cross my fingers...' Durandal thought.

"You want to take away everyone's freedom? That's madness!" Athrun said, getting out of his chair and clenching his fists.

"Is it? Is it really? Do you not remember what you told your friend Kira Yamato during the last war? You tried to get him to join Zaft, telling him that he needed to be with his own kind, the coordinators. Instead of allowing him to fight for what he wanted and find his own cause, you wanted to tell him that he needed to fight with you because of his genetic structure, is that right?" Durandal said as the camera cuts to show a younger Durandal talking with Rau Le Creuset, Athrun's Commander and the man who he expressed concerns about Kira sometime during the first war. At this time the green eyed pilot loosened his fists and sat back down in his seat.

"Yes, I did..." Athrun said.

"Thank you... now, let me make myself clear, I do not intend to strip all freedom away from the people of the world, Athrun. I merely wish to guide us out of this path of war that we have been living, that has proven itself to be nothing more than a complete failure. People would not be slaves to anything other than themselves, and even then, is the word slave fitting if you are the master? This will be the case under the Destiny Plan. Would the world not be a better place if insane people who control Blue Cosmos are not allowed to ever gain the power that they have today, the power that has only lead to death and destruction of millions of innocent people and millions more to come? Do you not wonder what humanity would be like if we completely eliminated genetic racism, not by making everyone a natural or coordinator, but make them all a cut above like your friend, Kira Yamato, who is a class of his own? Do you not see what a glorious world that would be, Athrun? Do you not see how humanity would prosper under those conditions? Can you not imagine the problems it would solve?" Durandal asked as he looked at the blue haired pilot who had his head in his hands before he raised his neck.

"But still..." Athrun tried to say, his mind still filled with doubt and indecision.

"Athrun!" The Chairman stood up and looked at him in a very serious manner. "You joined Zaft to prevent what happened to you from happening to anyone else. You realized that the reason for this war, and the reason for most wars, is the greed and lust of those people who hide in the shadows, Logos, correct?" Durandal asked sternly.

"Yes..."

"And you decided then... that you would rid the world of that problem, right? That..."

"Starting a war for greed and the desire to bolster ones own pockets is NOT, UNDER NO CIRUMSTANCES, A GOOD REASON TO DO SO! Yes, I thoughts those words! I am prepared to take up arms against Logos and fight for what is right... to bring that dreadful group of greedy murderers down! But now... are you so sure of yourself?" Athrun asked in a yelling tone, clearly pissed off and looking for answers and good reasons.

"Then tell me, even if you destroy the current day Logos right now, what will happen when ___another _Logos is formed in the future, and they start a new war over their own greed. What will you do then when the world plunges back into madness because you only cut the stem but didn't dig up the root?" Durandal asked, stepping closer to Athrun as the Red Knight backed off a little.

"Dig up the root?"

"YES! That is that the Destiny Plan was made to address. As long as people are allowed to just to go gallivanting around like how they are in our current world then we will never rid ourselves of conflict and tragedy! It's the status quo, Athrun, and right now, it's flawed! In it's current state Logos has been allowed to thrive for far too long! I want to change that, Athrun, I want to bring on a new age of peace and prosperity for all, not not just those who have something as trivial as money or power, understood? Do you get me now? Do you now understand what I'm trying to do? What I'm trying to do is not 'evil' and 'bad', but in fact the right thing to do?" Durandal asked as Athrun remained quiet. "If people are given a role in life based on their genes then those with greed in their heart, like Logos and Blue Cosmos, will not be allowed to ascend to the roles that they have today, where they have the power to start these wars. Would you like to deny them the chance to start these conflicts, Athrun? Would you? 'Know what you're fighting for', that's your doctrine, right? Well, tell me, now... is this what you want to fight for? Or am I going to have to find another Ace to assign your new mobile suit too? Perhaps... Shinn Asuka?" Durandal asked as Athrun stood up in outrage.

"Alright... fine! I get it... I understand what you're saying and I agree, Chairman Durandal. It's just... it was..."

"Shocking at first? Understandable. Something like this... something so different... probably hasn't been seen since the time of the sickle and the hammer... and that was... how long ago? It doesn't matter..."

"And so this is why you're holding me back from seeing my new mobile suit? You wanted to ask me this question first?"

"Like I said when we met those few months ago... when I gave you that insignia..." Durandal pointed towards the FAITH badge. "It's a matter of trust... of faith... and both of those things... I have plenty of when it comes to you. I just needed to make sure what I was doing was correct. Now... are you with me..." Durandal stuck out his right hand, and Athrun moved his own towards the Chairman's, but hesitated for a second.

"Tell me, Chairman... the others... Lunamaria, Rey and Heine... do they know about this? Do they agree?" He asked.

"They do while you were recovering I had this same talk with all three of them." Durandal nodded. Athrun still remained quiet for about five seconds.

"What about Lacus?" Athrun once again received a positive nod, and in the blink of an eye, he grabbed Durandal's right hand and shook it like the man he was.

"Very well then... thank you, Athrun Zala. Soldier of Zaft and valued member of the FAITH Special Forces..." Durandal complimented as Athrun gave a light nod in return.

"Just so you know... before I ask about my suit... I want to tell you something about Shinn. Based on my encounters with him on the Minerva... he's unlikely to accept this 'Destiny Plan', do you know that?" Athrun asked as Durandal sat back down and locked his hands together, his elbows on the desk.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it... one way or another. He probably needs just a talking to... an explanation, that's all." Durandal stated.

"Fine then." Athrun replied sharply. "Where is my new machine then?" He quickly questioned.

"I am going to the main office of the Integrated Design Bureau in three hours. Rey Za Burrel, Lunamaria Hawke, and Heine Westenfluss will be meeting me there... and so should you. Until then you're to stay in Aprilius One and are free to do whatever you please. A man like you, who was until recently bound by a bed of healing probably has a millions things he would want to do now that he is free from that resting place, correct?"

"Yes."

"Alright then... off you go. We've nothing more to talk about at this point in time." Durandal stated as Athrun saluted him before walking out of the room.

* * *

Integrated Design Bureau:

A group of five, consisting of Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal, Rey Za Burrel, Athrun Zala, Heine Westenfluss and Lunamaria Hawke made their way down a large circular platform which appeared to be functioning much like an elevator. However before too long the walls around the elevator disappeared as it descended into a vast chamber, where three of the four pilots, consisting of Athrun, Heine, and Lunamaria looked with awe at the room around them. Although it was very dark, the four of them could see several objects off in the distance, and they looked to be mobile suits. Rey on the other hand held a neutral expression and Durandal kept a slight smirk. When the elevator reached the bottom of the platform it docked with a large, suspended circular ring that was surrounded by the four dark, metallic figures arranged in an 'x' pattern around the chamber, and the platform itself seemed to be aligned with their knees.

"All four of you..." The Chairman began. "You have each faced many challenges and have performed to the best of your abilities in each and everyone of the tasks that have been given to you during this dreadful war. For this, you shall be rewarded for your efforts." The eyes off all four pilots fixed upon him, although from what it looked they were each anxious to see what these machines were, and each hide their anxiety to the best of their abilities. "I don't think that I need to review current events considering the fragile state of world affairs right now... I think I may have started something a little crazy right now."

"Not at all, sir." Rey quickly responded.

"We've all had our talks... and although there are many more thinks I wish to discuss with all of you, I think it's time we got down to business. Surrounding you are the tools that you shall use to end this destructive conflict once and for all, am I right?"

"Yes sir." They all responded in unison.

"I see... then I'll keep you all waiting no longer. Now, take a look around you, I would have to be blind to see that your eyes have been drawn to them... so I'll keep the four of you waiting no longer..." Durandal moved towards the control panel on the elevator and pressed a series of keys into it. At that moment, the massive chamber surrounding the four FAITH pilots lite up in an instant, revealing four taller than normal gundam-type mobile suits. Almost instantly, each of them began to look around and quickly find their match... as if they knew, by looks, which machine they would be piloting.

"My... goodness... it's... just looking at it... it's wonderful..." Lunamaria spoke with complete awe, staring at what appeared to be the bulkiest mobile suit of them all.

This machine mounted a ton of thrusters on the feet, on the legs, on the side skirts, shoulders, torso... everywhere where there wasn't a weapon already, and needless to say, this gundam had a lot of those too. The feet of the suit were almost three times the size of the others, and the legs were very wide too, and lacked a separate plate of knee armor, although there was a device mounted at that location. The front skirts went down almost to the knees of the suit and each of them had a beam saber mounted on it. Mounted on the side skirts were two devices that looked like they could be combined together to form something extremely dangerous. The back skirt was once again all one big piece that extended down past the knees of the suit, and was lined with thrusters. The chest was large and seemed more circular shaped, however in the center of it was what looked to be a large cannon.

The top of the chest revealed what looked to be a cockpit cover. The shoulder armor was more rounded and had what looked to be blades coming out of it and pointing down, although underneath each blade was a thruster. Arms and hands were once again, thick and armored in addition to the square device with a metal oval mounted in the center of it that was on the forearm of each arm. The head of the suit was rounded, contained CIWS mounted on the same level as the eyes, and had a v-fin that had two large metal pieces coming out of the forehead towards each other, colliding into each other, and then heading on their separate directions. The jewel on the forehead was engraved with 'ZGMF-X35S' and 'Decimate'.

On the back of the mobile suit was a large backpack which had four things. Two of the things mounted there looked like the beam Gatling guns that were mounted on Slash ZAKUs that would swing over the shoulders to fire. However the other two weapons were much bigger. These looked like beam cannons, and they were very long, even though they looked to be folded into three parts when compacted, and because of their height they went way over the gundams head.

"I think I like it..." Heine commented with a sly grin, looking upon the suit that was before him, which seemed to be the most agile looking of the bunch, judging by it's shape.

The feet looked to be a complete copy of the Blitz that had been destroyed by Kira Yamato several years earlier, meaning they were average size and had a foot guard which was a flush extension of the leg armor with a small trim of a different colored metal at it's edge. As for legs themselves, they also resembled the Blitz in their design with a small separate piece of metal on the bottom of the knee armor. Mounted on the outer calf of the right leg was what looked to be a small beam pistol, and mounted on the left calf were three cylindrical containers, which looked like grenades similar to what the ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior equipped.

The front skirts ran from the top of the waste down to about half way to knee and were completely flat on their inner side and rounded on the outer side. The back skirt was one big piece like the Blitz's with several vents on it. The side skirts were shaped like triangles and sheathed on each side skirt was a large blade, similar to the one on the GOUF, that was pointing downwards and behind the gundam. The blade of each sword was straight and kind of thick and the hilt looked to have what looked like a claw on the end of it. The chest was thin and had four vents on it, in the same fashion as the GAT-X207 Blitz, but the cockpit hatch seemed to be on the top of the chest in a way that was similar to the Freedom and Justice's cockpit hatches. The shoulders were big sharp but at the same time rounded, and seemed to have a place where the armor would separate in the middle of them. Gripped in each hand of the mobile suit was a cord that was similar to a heat whip, and mounted on the forearm of each arm was a device of sorts.

The function of this device could not be determined just by looking at it, but it did seem to resemble the "Gleipnir" rocket anchor launcher that was mounted on the left arm of the Blitz. Like the Blitz there were two large and thin looking thrusters that extended a little bit over the mobile suit's head however there were also three other thrusters mounted on the suit which, when looked at all together, made an upside down star symbol on the back of the machine, the last thruster being visible via looking in between the mobile suit's legs.

As for the head itself, it did not seem to have CIWS mounted on it, and upon further inspection the barrels for those weapons were mounted on the torso and could be seen on the top of the chest of the mobile suit in a similar fashion to the Impulse. The two sides of the v-fin of the gundam looked to be diamonds that were stretched at the top, like the Blitz, and looked to be the same length. However unlike the stolen GAT machine before it, they seemed to split like a fork in the road as they reached their end, and the diamond shaped jewel on the forehead of the suit had the engravings 'ZGMF-X70S' and 'Waylayer' on it. Overall the body of this machine resembled the machine piloted by the one dead Zala team member before it however it did mount several more thrusters on it's body.

"This... this is... the Justice?" Athrun questioned.

This particular gundam didn't seem to be too thin or bulky, and as Athrun said, seemed to resemble the original ZGMF-X09A Justice gundam in many ways. The legs were strong and well proportioned, and there were foot guards in the middle of the feet separating the feet armor from the leg armor. On the legs there were some thrusters pointed forward just before the knee, and on each of the knees there seemed to be an emitter of some sorts. Looking back down to the feet, there was also an emitter which seemed to line up with the ones on the knees. There was a rather large thruster on the front of the suit and on each front skirt their was also a thruster. On the side skirts there were two beam sabers mounted on top of each section.

The back skirt was small and composed of one solid piece of material again. The chest looked very plain, and there was a cockpit cover on the top of it. The shoulders seemed to scream the word 'Justice' with their small and pointed design with a thin piece of metal sticking out of each shoulder. The arms were normal size and on the left arm there was a shield which was shaped like an upside down rain drop but it wasn't rounded, it had four sides and four corners. On this shield there was a device in the center similar to the one's on Colossus' arms, and around it were some pieces of metal which seemed to look like they made a claw. On the longer edges of the shield were two pieces of equipment which resembled the Sword Impulse's beam boomerangs to an extent and pointed downwards out of the shield.

Held in the right arm was a beam rifle which did not seem to be very unique in it's design with just a scope. The back of the mobile suit was the real eye catcher. It looked like it had a streamlined fighter jet with it's wings folded in, nose cut off and instead had two beam cannons on the front of it. The head of the mobile suit had some CIWS barrels on the sides of it, a large camera mounted on top of it which was similar to the ones the Aegis, Justice, and Savior had, as well as a large v-fin. The jewel on it's head said 'ZGMF-X19S' and 'Righteousness'.

"Hmmph..." Rey simply crossed his arms, a somewhat impressed look on his usually emotionless face as he gazed upon the final machine.

Starting from the bottom up, this machine had two average sized feet which looked like they would be primarily one color on the outside and another color on upper side of the armor when it activate it's phase shift. It had foot guards which wrapped around the entire ankle of the machine, and even had thrusters on it. The legs looked normal, and the knees had a thruster pointing downwards as well as a separate piece of metal on top of them. The front skirt armor of the machine looked a lot like the Freedom's except it wasn't as bulky, and the back skirts were the same, but bigger and each of them had some sort of elongated pod like one of the Providence's DRAGOONs on it. The first sign of this unit's past was apparent as soon as someone looked at the side skirts. Folded into two pieces was what looked to be a Rail gun mounted on each side skirt that had a beam saber also attached to it.

The torso greatly resembled the one mounted on the original ZGMF-X10A Freedom gundam if not for the oval shaped cannon in it's abdomen. The shoulders were small and box-like and the arms had the same type of device the Colossus had mounted on each forearm. The head of the suit also seemed to be shaped like the Freedom's, and the v-fin consisted of two pieces, but looked like it replicated the Freedom's a lot. The jewel in the middle of the forehead said 'ZGMF-X20S' and 'Never Forget'. The backpack of the suit looked to be like the Providence's before it, except for one thing. The Providence had a massive circle for a backpack and the largest beam rifle ever seen in it's right hand. The backpack on this suit was a circle but it was split down the center and attached to a center piece that would connect into the back of the gundam. There were two beam rifled mounted vertically on the back of the machine in the center piece of the backpack.

Finally, the DRAGOONs of the suit were numerous. There were eight smaller ones, two of them mounted on the back skirt, and the other six mounted on the backpack in the 'west', 'east', 'northwest', 'northeast', 'southwest', 'southeast' positions of you were to think of the backpack as a compass. The suit also carried four larger pods, and two of them were mounted on the highest points of the backpack and the other two were mounted on the shoulders of the suit, giving it it's bulk.

In addition to the unique v-fins and insignia's on the forehead jewels of each suit, they also possessed some other kind of marking on their body. Each of the suits had Zaft's logo on their right shoulder, a FAITH symbol on their left, and their unit type, model number, and name written on the front left side skirt armor vertically. For example, the Colossus had 'ZGMF' on one column, 'X35S' on the second column to the right of it, and finally 'Colossus' written on the final column. Even then, the Legacy had even more markings on it. Each of the small DRAGOONs had the name of an angel from mythology written on it's tip. These names were 'Uriel', 'Metatron', 'Serephiel', 'Hemuel', 'Gabriel', 'Jophiel', 'Zaphkel', and finally 'Raphael'. The large DRAGOONs also each had a name, and they were 'Seraphim', 'Cherubim', 'Dominion', and 'Ophanim'.

Durandal began to address each of the machines after giving their pilots a fair thirty seconds to check them out first, and looked towards Lunamaria. "ZGMF-X35S Colossus..." He then transferred his gaze towards Heine. "ZGMF-X70S Assassin." Then to Athrun. "ZGMF-X19S Crusader." And last, but certainly not least, he looked at Rey, the blonde. "ZGMF-X20S Legacy..." He finished, the attention of the four pilots having had returned to him now. "These four machines are state of the art. I have been informed that they are superior to anything that has been produced up to this point, by either the Earth Alliance's Adukurf-Mecho Industries or ORB's Morganroate. I will provide you with more details later, but I can see the four of you playing pivotal roles in the coming struggle, with these constructs by your side to boot."

"Chairman... are these..." Athrun tried to ask, still shocked.

"Of course they are! Athrun!" Luna squealed.

"Yes, they are yours. These are your new machines..." Durandal explained.

"Our... new machines?" Heine inquired, placing his right hand on his FAITH symbol and grinning in the process.

"Indeed." Durandal smiled.

"Well then... Chairman." Athrun began. "I know you said you would provide us with more information later, but do you at least have a short description of each of them?" He inquired, gaining a nod.

"I do, in fact." He turned towards the Assassin once again. "The Assassin is based off of the GAT-X207 Blitz gundam that we used in the First War, with modifications made to it in order to bring it in line with the times as well as the GOUF. It maintains the Mirage Colloid trait of it's predecessor... that is to say, it can turn invisible, but only for a short period of time. Granted, it can now use it's phase shift while cloaked."

"What about the big one, Chairman?" Luna asked, clearly in a state of joy.

"Ah yes... the Colossus." Durandal turned toward the bulky machine. "The Colossus is, from what I've been told, the machine meant to deliver the enemy a very powerful blow in a short period of time. It is equipped with a multitude of thrusters as well as a variant of the HiMAT system used in the First War on the ZGMF-XxxA mobile suits that were deployed after the development of the neutron jammer canceler. In addition to this the Colossus mounts a multitude of ranged weapons, and even includes a downsized version of the Tannhauser mounted on the Minerva, a weapon with more firepower than any weapon mounted on any mobile suit in existence." Durandal explained.

"Oh my... that's just... wow... and here I thought the Gunner ZAKU was a beast. This thing blows it out of the water... ten times over!" Luna cried.

"And what about this one... it seems awfully familiar, Chairman." Athrun crossed his arms, looking at the horned Crusader.

"Nostalgia, Athrun? I hoped that you would feel something like that." Durandal began. "While the Colossus is meant for heavy ranged firepower your machine is the exact opposite of that. The Crusader was developed using your piloting data as well as the blueprints of the Aegis, Savior, and the original Justice gundam. While it lacks the transformation capabilities of the former two suits it retains all the potential that the Justice once had, bare some minor details. You will find that while it cannot change shape the Fatum-10 sub light lifter it carries on it's back should prove quite useful in battle, as well as the beams that have been mounted on the feet of the suit, from the knees down." Durandal explained as Athrun examined the Crusader while it's phase shift was offline and was indeed impressed to say the least.

"Excellent... Chairman."

"Now... Rey..." Durandal looked towards the final pilot, and the one who was usually objective and quiet.

"Sir!" The blonde saluted.

"Finally we have the Legacy, a very ambitious machine to say the least. It is equipped with the next generation DRAGOON system which although it still requires a user with high spacial awareness, is more responsive and quick than the one used by one of it's predecessor, the ZGMF-X13A Providence."

"One of it's predecessors?" Athrun asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I was told that when Integrated designed the Legacy they took notes from the final battle of Yachin Due, specifically the duel between the Providence and the Freedom in the last breaths of that war. When drawing out the blueprints for this machine they meant to answer one question: What would happen if we designed a mobile suit with the externally mounted power of the DRAGOON system the Providence possessed as well as the maneuverability and hard mounted ranged capabilities of the Freedom? The end result stands before you know, a machine that has been dubbed by Edir Arak, Integrated's CEO as being 'the most powerful mobile suit ever built, period' although that's not to say the other three lack in their own departments." Durandal finished as each of the pilots, bar Rey himself, began to gasp a little. "Well gentlemen and lady, what do you think? Our arsenals have worked tirelessly to create these masterpieces."

"One word: Perfect." Lunamaria replied.

"What she said." Heine followed up.

"Thank you, Chairman." Rey finished.

(Note: Design specifications for the four machines are on the bottom of the page. I've done this because most of you already know what kind of firepower each of them has, and in addition to this, they will not be used in combat during this chapter)

* * *

-End Flashback-

'Power... that was what was given to me... although at a cost... a cost I'm willing to pay.' Athrun thought as the four of them made their way to the bottom of the hanger bay and approached Vino and Yolan.

"Hey you two goofballs, how's it been?" Lunamaria questioned as she quickly approached the two engineers, giving them a warm smile which they returned.

"Awesome."

"It's been great... although a little rough."

"So, these are... they're... your guy's... new...?" Yolan attempted.

"Yup. Sure is... masterpieces, don't you say?" Heine asked.

"Yeah, I can't wait to look at the specifications on these bad boys... seeing you fight Logos with them is going to be something else, I can feel it!" Vino exclaimed to the four FAITH pilots.

"Alright... alright... now let's get down to business then, shall we. After all, you guys and the rest of the engineering crew are responsible for maintenance, am I right?" Athrun asked in a friendly tone as the two giggled.

* * *

"Shinn Asuka of the Minerva, reporting as ordered, sir." The red eyed teen spoke in a somewhat neutral and slightly anxious voice as he walked forward into one of the more decorated rooms in Gibraltar, where Chairman Gilbert Durandal himself sat on a couch.

"Ah Shinn, thanks for coming. Please, by all means, take a seat. I requested your personal presence here for a reason." Durandal ordered as Shinn saluted him.

"Well then... thank you, sir." Shinn replied, settling down across from the Chairman.

"Now... there are a number of things I wish to discuss with you, Shinn. Be informed right now, none of are negative." Durandal stated, pausing for about five seconds while Shinn fixed his gaze utterly upon the Chairman. While his look was not that of a happy puppy dog looking at it's master with awe when it thought it was about to receive a treat, it was far from a look of anger or discontent. Right now, the red eyes of Shinn Asuka were those of an inquisitor, or someone who analyzes everything they see, so as not to miss a single detail. "Although you were unable to join your fellow pilots in defending the PLANTs when they were under attack for the second time by the Earth Alliance the reports I've received from the Minerva in the meantime have failed to disappoint me. I must say I am astonished by your actions since your departure from Diocula." He explained.

"Sir... but if I might request, could you be more specific?" Shinn questioned, his expression unflinching.

"Well, let's see... you managed to hold off a large number of Windams that were tasked with annihilating the Lodonia Laboratory, that's one."

"Evidence like that should not be burned. The Alliance should be well aware that we know of one of their darkest secrets."

"Indeed." Durandal nodded. "Then, while our forces in Eurasia struggled to take care of the monstrosity that the Alliance had chosen to unleash upon it's own people, you were part of the effort that managed to take it down."

"Chairman, if I might add... _by no means_ _did I take that thing down by myself._ There were others present at it's downfall too, and I'm sure you know who they are." Shinn informed, the pH level of his voice increasing slightly into the basic zone as Durandal left his seat and walked over to a table where there was a glass cup and a container of some sort of beverage.

"Ah yes, the Archangel and the Fleet of ORB vessels that were accompanying it..." He began to pour some liquid into the cup, giving Shinn an opening to speak.

"Chairman... I could make myself clear, I have no intention of raising an argument with you about what happened during Operation Angel Capture. I was given orders and I carried them out. It was as simple as that." Light seemed to reflect off of the surface of Shinn's eyes as he spoke those words.

"Ah, I see... well then, thank you, Shinn. That kind of loyalty is something I would expect out of any Zaft soldier. You are a true exemplar. Durandal finished and motioned back towards his seat.

"Sir."

"And how could I forget about your actions during Operation Angel Capture. Reports say that you performed above and beyond the skill level that the majority of pilots could only dream of achieving. That is to say, you managed to defeat a foe that is would be considered superior to you who was piloting a machine with technological advantages above your own."

"The Noir may have been a powerful mobile suit commanded by an incredibly skilled pilot but that's not to say the Impulse doesn't have at least one advantage over it that I was able to exploit, sir." Shinn continued with his neutral, inquisitive manner.

"Understandable... now, enough of that..." Durandal took a sip of the clear liquid in his cup, which was probably water before looking directly at Shinn Asuka. "There are two more topics which I need to discuss with you... and they are... how can I put this... a little more controversial?"

"And what would those topics be, Chairman?" Shinn inquired as Durandal took a slightly deep breath.

"I understand that with the aid of Athrun Zala as well as the Chief Medical Officer aboard the Minerva you managed to discover a unique trait that both you and Athrun posses. Does the term 'SEED mode' ring a bell, Shinn?"

"Yes sir. However allow me to clarify, with your permission of course."

"Go right ahead."

"SEED mode was an ability that was first demonstrated to me during the first time the Archangel and Minerva met, and subsequently after, while our ship was being repaired in the ORB Union. At first the only two people who I thought had it were ORB's Chief Representative and her brother. That soon changed, though. After the two battles the Minerva faced outside of ORB territory against Earth Alliances forces, I discovered that I too possessed 'SEED mode' and questioned the doctor about it. It was soon after that the Captain also heard of this and so did FAITH Special Forces Member Athrun Zala, who explained to us that he too knew of it, but that it was something that only ORB had done extensive, and top secret research upon. That is the full extent of my knowledge of 'SEED mode'." Shinn explained, giving Chairman Durandal a couple of seconds to take in all that information.

"I see..." He lowered his voice somewhat. "So ORB is the only nation that actually has sufficient research done on this... let's call it a genetic mutation for now, agreed?" Shinn nodded in response. "Now, if we are to be completely blind right now as to what this mutation does, then let me ask you... what does it do for you? How do you feel when it is activated?" Shinn simply shook his head and his arms in a confused manner, trying to come up with the proper words.

"Um... ah... I just... I just feel... more powerful. As if to say my combat abilities... my perception of the battlefield and my natural and maximum reaction time have been sharpened so that I may perform better. Right now... that's all I can tell you, sir."

"Hmm... so basically you feel stronger... as if you can fight harder than before, correct?"

"That is correct."

"I see... well then, I hope that in the future we may be able to shed some more light on 'SEED mode', with help from the ORB Union... hopefully after the war is over." He took another sip. "Now, there's one last thing I need to talk to you about... the Gaia and it's pilot." Shinn's fixed look suddenly shifted to one of a surprised young teenager. "You were part of the force that uncovered the Earth Alliance's Extended project and you were the one who managed to capture the Gaia in battle, and from what Captain Gladys has told me, you seem to be rather interested in the girl's condition. From what I've seen, and from what you've done, I find it only fitting that you have some say in what happens to the captured Extended girl." Durandal stated with a slight smirk.

"Stella Loussier, that is her name."

"Oh, right..." He snapped his fingers. "Slipped my mind. Thank you for reminding me of her name."

"No problem, sir."

"Shinn, may I ask you, what do you wish to see happen to the girl? If her fate was being held in your hands, what would you do with her?" Durandal questioned.

"I would cure her of her condition... that make her vulnerable to certain words like... 'die'... and then I would make the necessary steps to ensure that she would be able to live a normal and happy life, free from the tyranny of her past, Chairman. Although I guess it's not going to be that simple, right?"

"To some extents... based on the data that we've collected from the Lodonia Lab, we already have enough information about these Extendeds so that performing an autopsy should she somehow die from her condition would be pointless. And even though she had done many wrongs in the name of Zaft, I doubt it was of her own accord. Like what you said about your performance during Operation Angel Capture, every action done by her was simply a matter of following orders, right? Tell me, you've talked to her... does she seem like someone who possesses the maturity to think for herself? Or is she a victim of the Alliance's usual machinations?"

"Machinations? Sir, you lost me there?"

"When she stole the Gaia and when she attacked Zaft soldiers did she do it because she really wanted to do that or did she perform those actions because her mental age is too young to think for itself?"

"No sir... she... she's as old as me, chronologically. Mentally however... she's probably around the same age as my little sister... when she died." Shinn expressed, lowering his head somewhat and taking on a somewhat sorrowful tone.

"I see." Durandal took one last sip out of his glass and placed it on an end table before locking his fingers together. When Shinn looked at him, he saw a man who was delving deep into his own thoughts to try to find a solution to a problem based on what evidence he had been given. "I suppose it would be criminal to force her to continue living in her current state, so treatment of her condition is in order." Durandal began, causing Shinn to give out a slight burst of hope and happiness.

"Great... fantastic, Chairman."

"However... because of what she's done up to this point, I cannot simply allow her to be set free again into the public, even if it's too an orphanage. Who knows if the Alliance will try to track her down after what's happened... no doubt what they did to her over all those years must have cost a fortune, and so she in turn must represent a significant investment. So the question is... what shall we do with her after she's been treated. There's no telling what she might be capable of even after she's no longer affected by her 'Block Word'. I'm sorry, Shinn, but she can't be let completely free yet, not given her current state."

"So what do you plan on doing with her, then?" Shinn asked.

"That's what I'm trying to decide right now." Durandal replied, giving off a light smile.

"If I might make a suggestion, sir..."

"Hmm?"

"We could... keep her on the Minerva for the time being. No, she wouldn't bother the crew or plot something against us... I'll make sure of that. However, if you don't want to let her out in the public just yet..." Shinn suggested.

"Shinn Asuka... are you suggesting that Stella Loussier becomes... a ward for you? While you are on the ship? Because that is what it sounds like right now."

"If that's how you want to put it, Chairman, then yes... I will take her in as a 'ward'. I mean, it's not like a Zaft pilot has taken in an enemy soldier in the past and integrated them into their crew... didn't Rau Le Creuset do the same thing sometime last war?" Shinn asked as Durandal raised his hand.

"Let's not talk about the late Commander Le Creuset right now, Shinn. While it is true that during Operation Spitbreak he did manage to capture an Alliance soldier and take her in that girl was not an Extended. However... once Miss Loussier is cured of her condition, I doubt she'll be much of an Extended anymore." Durandal explained.

"So... does that mean?"

"I'll make arrangements then, Shinn. However, you must be the one to take care of her and make sure nothing happens because of her. She will be your responsibility and anything she does will be something that you will be held accountable for, understood?" Durandal asked, looking right into Shinn's soul with some very serious looking eyes.

"If it means I can keep her safe... if I can protect her... fine then... I accept." Shinn answered, causing Durandal to stand up and stretch out his right hand.

"Then it's a deal." Shinn followed along and shook the Chairman's right hand.

"Fine then." Shinn replied, noticing a slight smirk on Durandal's lips.

"Now, get some rest. The final preparations for Operation Ragnarok are taking place right now and our forces will departing at nine hundred hours tomorrow morning... as you are probably well aware this will be a difficult operation, one requiring the best efforts from each and every soldier present there, alright?"

"Yes sir." Shinn broke away and saluted the Chairman. "On my way, sir." He replied neutrally, leaving the room.

"Good... good..." Durandal smiled.

However on Shinn's way out several thoughts began to race through his mind, about all that had been told to him.

'It's normal for someone like the Chairman to worry about SEED mode considering that kind of role that it can play on the battlefield? But Stella... something tells me he was giving me what I wanted... like he was holding off on telling me what he had planned for her until I made a suggestion... only to say yes in return? It was almost too easy making those arrangements for Stella, like he was trying to appease me. So I guess Chairman Durandal is up to something after all... but I'll probably have to wait and observe to confirm my suspicions...' Shinn pondered, making his way down the halls.

* * *

Nine hundred hours, the next day:

The entire base was bustling with activity as the combined Zaft and Republic of East Asia forces began to leave Gibraltar. The intercoms were filled with voices announcing the departures of many warships and mobile suit teams.

"The Bergus and the St. Augustine are underway."

"Fifteenth Mobile Fleet: Route C is clear."

"Chairman..." Admiral Kendan Westenfluss asked from Durandal's office.

"Yes, I know what time it is. We have to do this. After all that's the reason why we've gathered here, isn't it?" Durandal spoke decisively, making his way towards the exit.

"Course clear. Flagship BB01, you may head out." One of the port controllers ordered as the Minerva began to reverse her thrust and leave the dock.

"Message from Flagship BB01, the Minerva. All forces follow our lead." Executive Officer Trine announced to all departing ships and mobile suits. At the same time, the bridge was packed. Sitting behind the tactical map that was behind the Captain's Chair was Chairman Durandal as well as Admiral Westenfluss and some other high ranking members of Zaft. Captain Gladys took her position to the right of the Chairman near the corner of the bridge and Arthur Trine was occupying the Captain's seat at this time.

"I want you to send a message before this begins." Durandal started. "We demand that they hand over Lord Djibril to us, as well as any other members of Logos now hiding in that base." He ordered.

"Yes sir." The Zaft officers replied.

"Let's try this approach first. Surely diplomacy won't harm anyone, now won't it?"

* * *

Heaven's Base:

This location, like it's Zaft counterpart, was now bustling with activity in preparation for the coming attack. However the members of Logos, including Lord Djibril simply sat in a lounge above the Command Center, observing it all.

"Lord Djibril... it's from Zaft. They've set sail from Gibraltar." Cody McGiligan, the commanding officer entered the lounge with a single piece of paper in his hands.

"Oh, is that so?" Djibril chuckled.

"We, the combined Zaft and Earth Alliance forces now demand the following from Heaven's Base. One, all members of Logos previously identified as such are to be turned over immediately. Two, all forces are to immediately disarm and abandon the base." McGiligan announced as most of the Logos personal, such as Bruno Azrael, began to whisper amongst themselves, filling the room with anxiety and worry simultaneously.

"QUIET!" Djibril smashed his right fist into it's armrest, silencing everyone in the room. "Commander... ready our defenses. Let them come. Let Durandal come with all his power and all his fury and let us embarrass him for all the world to see!" He ordered.

"Sir!" McGiligan replied, saluting him and then proceeding the leave the base.

"Uh... Djibril... are you so..." Bruno leaned over towards his friend, questioning his confidence.

"The first Destroy suffered the fate it did because it didn't have backup supporting it, specifically in the forms of Zamza-zahs, Gells-Ghes, and Euclids. These ones... however..." Djibril chuckled, the camera shifting to show several dark, titanic Destroys hidden within the base. "No... Zaft won't break Heaven's Base, not with what they currently have. I promise." Djibril assured.

"That's quite the statement, Djibril." Another Logos member, who was bald and had a long white beard said, smoking a cigar afterwords.

"Durandal is a dreamer, a revolutionary. Well... _revolutions are thought up by intellectuals but their aims are so unrealistic... they'll stoop to drastic measures. Following the revolution the world is swallowed up by bureaucracy and meritocracy. Intellectuals dislike this and so they dissociate themselves from society and politics... _and then what happens afterwords? Well all suffer. Let's not allow Durandal to have his revolution now, shall we? Hehehehehe..." Djibril chuckled.

* * *

Combat specifications for X19S, X20S, X35S, X70S:

___ZGMF-X70S Assassin_

******Name: **Assassin

******Model Number: **ZGMF-X70S

******Unit Type: **Prototype Coordinator-use Stealth Mobile Suit

******Developed from:**

GAT-X207 Blitz

ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited

******Manufacturer: **Integrated Design Bureau

******Overall Height:** 19.5m

******Standard Weight:** 75 metric tons

******Power-plant:** Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor

******Accommodation:** Pilot only, cockpit in torso

******Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

15.5mm Chest mounted CIWS x 2

HA-M762W "Elektrisch" Electro-Whip x 2

A direct upgrade from the MA-M757 "Slayer Whip" Heat Rod used by the GOUF. Like the ones used in the mass production model, one of these is mounted inside each forearm and can be extended and retracted. Deals an electric shock the enemy mobile suit on contact. Each whip has the potential to damage a Phase Shift protected suit if it managed to hit a critical spot with enough force.

HA-M231D "Wurfmesser" Hyper-velocity Retractable Beam Dagger x 2

Stored inside of a firing unit that is mounted onto each forearm is a small and hard to notice dagger. Each of these daggers is wired to the Assassin and can be retracted if necessary. When fired the velocity of each dagger exceeds that of any mobile suit and rivals that of a normal beam shot. Each dagger is protected by Phase Shift Armor and have a strip on the outer edged which project a beam when fired.

HA-M442CC "Quickblade" Ultra-Light Beam Blade x 2

Mounted on the side skirts of the ZGMF-70S Assassin is a double edged beam sword similar to the MMI-558 "Tempest" Beam Sword used by the GOUF. Extendeds out when activated.

HA-M552RC "Draw" High-energy Beam Pistol

Mounted on the outer calf of the Assassin's right leg is a small beam pistol

HA-M888HG "Effugere" Flash Grenade x 3

The Assassin mounts three flash grenades on it's lower left leg that when used create flash of light that disorients the sensors of enemy units, allowing it get away safely.

******System Features**

Operating System:

The Assassin utilizes the latest and most advanced mobile suit O.S. designed for Zaft machines, the Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex operating system.

Phase Shift Armor:

The Assassin is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor.

Advanced Mirage Colloid Stealth System:

The Assassin, like the Blitz before it, is able to project a field of microscopic prisms held in magnetic suspension around the gundam, thus allowing it to turn invisible. However unlike the Blitz, it is able to keep it's Phase Shift Armor activated at the same time as it's Mirage Colloid, although this version of the Mirage Colloid cannot be sustained for a very long time.

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* * *

___ZGMF-X35S Colossus_

******Name: **Colossus

******Model number: **ZGMF-X35S

******Unit Type: **Prototype Coordinator-use Artillery Mobile Suit

******Developed from:**

GAT-X103 Buster

GAT-X303 Aegis

ZGMF-1001/K Slash ZAKU Phantom

******Manufacturer: **Integrated Design Bureau

******Overall Height:** 26m

******Standard Weight:** 115 metric tons

******Power-plant: **Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor

******Accommodation:** Pilot only, cockpit in torso

******Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

15.5mm Head mounted CIWS x 2

MX2343 "Prisma" Beam Shield x 4

Each forearm and knee of the colossus is equipped with a beam shield generator.

LC-697C "Schutz" Beam Saber x 2

The only melee weapon the Colossus carries are two beam sabers mounted on it's front skirts.

LC-453GC "Perforieren" Beam Gatling Gun x 2

Two beam Gatling guns are mounted on the backpack of the Colossus and fold forward over the shoulders and next to the head of the unit when in use.

LC-778SC "Catharsis" Multi-phase Energy Cannon

A high powered beam cannon mounted onto the chest of the ZGMF-X35S Colossus

LC-999HC "Bergen Schutzschalter" Hyper-Energy Dual-Purpose Beam Cannon x 2

By far the most powerful beam weapons on the Colossus are it's two massive cannons mounted on the backpack of the suit, and the reason why it is as tall as it is. When activated they swing under the arms of the Colossus and need to be held in place by it's hands for stability. These cannons can be configured into two modes to fire two different types of weapons.

LC-999A Hyper-Energy Anti-Armor Beam Shot Gun

When the "Bergen Schutzschalter" is folded under the arms and only the back and middle sections are straightened out, the cannon is in it's shotgun mode. When fired, the weapon is capable of dealing massive damage to all targets in a wide cone.

LC-999B Hyper-Energy Sniper Rifle

When the cannon is activated and in shotgun mode, the third and final section of it can come forward on a track and increase the length of the gun. In this mode the cannon fires an extremely powerful beam cannon blast.

LC-1000PC "Kristallnacht" Compact Mobile Suit Positron Cannon

The most powerful weapon of the Colossus is it's anti-matter positron cannon. This weapon is kept as two different half's and stored on the side skirts of the mobile suit when not in use. However, due to it's size, this positron cannon is nowhere near as powerful as the Lohengrin equipped on the Archangel and Izumo-class vessels nor the Tannhauser equipped on the Minerva-class and has a long recharge time. Nevertheless this weapon is easily the single most powerful weapon equipped on a Zaft mobile suit to date.

******System Features**

Operating System:

The Colossus utilizes the latest and most advanced mobile suit O.S. designed for Zaft machines, the Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex operating system.

Phase Shift Armor:

The Colossus is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor.

High Mobility Vernier Thruster System:

In order to allow the Colossus to not be confined to the narrow role of a supporting mobile suit, such as the Buster before it, the Colossus is equipped with a multitude of Verniers that allow it to move with nearly the same speed and agility of the other Zaft gundams bar the Assassin.

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* * *

___ZGMF-X19S Crusader_

******Name:** Crusader

******Model Number:** ZGMF-X19S

******Unit Type:** Prototype Coordinator-use Close Quarters Mobile Suit

******Developed from:**

GAT-X303 Aegis

ZGMF-X09A Justice

ZGMF-X23S Savior

******Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau

******Overall Height:** 22m

******Standard Weight:** 81.6 metric tons

******Power-plant:** Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor

******Accommodation:** Pilot only, cockpit in torso

******Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

15.5mm Head mounted CIWS x 2

AJ-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Saber x 2

The Crusader mounts a beam saber on each of it's side skirts. These beam sabers can be combined into a beam naginata.

AJ-M1911 "Super Lupus" High-energy beam rifle

A typical beam rifle. When not in use it is mounted on the back skirt.

AJ-Q15A "Stolz" Beam Blade x 2

One beam blade is mounted in each lower leg of the Crusader, extending from it's knees to it's feet.

AJ-M77M "Return" Beam Boomerang x 2

A nearly identical copy of the beam boomerangs that were equipped on the original Justice of which the Crusader is derived from. Stored in shoulders.

AJ-001S "Abwehr" Combined shield

Mounted on the left arm of the Crusader is it's shield, which features a diverse array of offensive and defensive hardware.

AJ-943B Beam shield Generator

A beam shield generator that is mounted on the center section of the Crusader's shield.

AJ-988G "Griff" Grapple Stinger

A large grapple claw that is stored in the shield

AJ-977R "Knochen" Beam Boomerang x 2

Two additional beam boomerangs are located the longer sides of the shield. However unlike the ones held in the Crusader's shoulders, these have a completely different handle, giving them the second function of a beam saber.

Fatum-10 Backpack/Sub-Flight Lifter

Mounted on the backpack and functioning as an upgrade from the Justice's Fatum-00 backpack is the Crusader's version of this piece of equipment. Like the Fatum-00 it can be mounted directly on the back of the Crusader, giving it enhanced speed and agility, stood on by the Crusader itself and used like a Guul, or flown around remotely by the pilot.

AF-6J "Hyper Fortis" Beam Cannon x 2

Two beam cannons mounted on the front of the Fatum-10 that have a limited range of mobility.

AF-7J "Preface Lacerta" Beam Saber x 2

When the beam cannons are rotated one hundred and eighty degrees they expose these two beam sabers.

AF-8J "Fronte Lacerta" Beam Nose

When the Fatum-10 is no longer mounted on on the back of the Crusader it's nose folds forward and this beam activates.

AF-9J "Hyper Stolz" Beam Blade x 2

A longer version of the leg beams mounted on the main body that are mounted on the front part of the wings.

******System Features**

Operating System:

The Crusader utilizes the latest and most advanced mobile suit O.S. designed for Zaft machines, the Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex operating system.

Phase Shift Armor:

The Crusader is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor.

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* * *

___ZGMF-X20S Legacy_

******Name:** Legacy

******Model Number:** ZGMF-X20S

******Unit Type:** Prototype Coordinator-use DRAGOON Mobile Suit

******Developed from:**

ZGMF-X13A Providence

ZGMF-X10A Freedom

******Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau

******Overall Height:** 25.5m

******Standard Weight:** 91.2 metric tons

******Power-plant:** Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor

******Accommodation:** Pilot only, cockpit in torso

******Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

15.5 Head Mounted CIWS x 2

MX666 "Heiligen Schild" Beam Shield Generator x 2

The Legacy mounts a beam deflector shield on each of it's forearms.

RL-139 "Offenbarung" Beam Saber x 2

ZGMF-X20S Legacy carries a beam saber on each side skirt. These beam sabers can be combined into a beam naginata.

RL-100 "Reinigen" Hyper-Energy Beam Rifle x 2

The Legacy mounts two longer than average beam rifles on the back of it's backpack when not in use. These beam rifles are based off of the massive MA-M221 "Judicium" beam rifle that the ZGMF-X13A Providence carried and are capable of dealing as much damage but are significantly smaller.

RL-532 "Xiphias Drei" Rail Cannon x 2

The Legacy mounts two Rail guns on each hip. These Rail guns are a direct upgrade from the MMI-M15 "Xiphas" Rail cannons that were mounted on the ZGMF-X10A Freedom.

RL-223 "Calidus" Multi-Phase Beam Cannon

Legacy's secondary long range weapon, mounted on the lower part of the top torso. Similar in function to the MGX-2235 "Callidus" beam cannon mounted on the chest of the ZGMF-X31S Abyss.

******DRAGOON System**

The main weapons of the Legacy are it's DRAGOONs.

Large DRAGOON Pod x 4

The Legacy mounts a large DRAGOON on each shoulder and a large DRAGOON on each half of it's backpack.

RL-600 "Ramme" Beam Spike x 4

Each large DRAGOON is equipped with four beam spikes.

RL-468 "Sakrileg" Pivotal Beam Cannon x 5

Five pivotal beam cannons are mounted on each large DRAGOON

Small DRAGOON Pod x 8

Legacy carries eight smaller pods which are mounted on the backpack and back skirts

RL-468 "Sakrileg" Pivotal Beam Cannon x 2

Two pivotal beam cannons are mounted on each small DRAGOON

******System Features**

Operating System:

The Legacy utilizes the latest and most advanced mobile suit O.S. designed for Zaft machines, the Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex operating system.

Phase Shift Armor:

The Legacy is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor.

High Mobility Aerial Tactics (HiMAT) System:

Underneath each of the DRAGOONs that the Legacy equips, as well as on several other points along the backpack, are thrusters which helps make the suit more agile like it's predecessor, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. When a DRAGOON is deployed the thruster underneath is activated. When all thrusters are activated the Legacy's speed and agility are increased exponentially.

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* * *

Author's Note: There you go. Next chapter... Heaven's Base. Although it won't be as much of a rick-roll as cannon... the Zaft guys will actually be using... GASP... strategy!

We'll see some interaction between Shinn and Stella next chapter, trust me.

Yes, I omitted the "Meteor Docking System" Protical from the Zaft units... you'll see why in a bit.

Also, what Djibril said italicizedat the end of the chapter, if anyone can tell me where that's referenced from... what gundam movie... you get this cookie! (::;)


	6. Phase 35: Heaven Came Crashing Down

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Approaching the coast of the Alliance's largest military headquarters, Heaven's Base, Iceland, the forces of both the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty and Earth Forces closed in. The air was cold, and there was a light, but foreboding mist occupying the sky. Neutral news crew vessels from all over stood on the decks of their ships, capturing a large amount of video footage and screen shots as vessels ranging from Arkansas-class cruisers to Spengler-class carriers, thrusting across the water at a quick pace, while aerial models such as the AMF-101 DINN and AMA-953 BABI grazed the air. Meantime, below the water and out of viewing range of the news cameras, a large number of Zaft Vosgulov-class submarines and aquatic models powered forward. However, the center of attention was the one vessel there which did not have a twin or any other of it's class; Zaft's flagship for Operation Ragnarok, the winged, gray and red LHM-BB01 Minerva.

"The deadline for them to give us an answer is five hours away." The blonde haired, white suited Captain Talia Gladys mentioned, standing by the side of Chairman on the ship's upper bridge, her words causing one or two other high ranking members of the military to huff in anxious impatience.

"It's probably pointless." Chairman Durandal began. "However it would certainly be better if we could resolve this without the use of violence, don't you think?"

"Certainly, Chairman. After all, did Sun Tzu not once mention that the best battle one can fight... is a battle not fought at all? Well, it was something like that." Admiral Kendan Westenfluss mentioned, giving off a fake sigh, but a sigh nonetheless, afterwords. "Either way we're prepared for when they tell us how 'pointless' this is..." He finished.

* * *

In the meantime, high above the Earth, Zaft's largest carrier, the Gondwana, as well as several other vessels, were preparing for the attack with numerous drop pods at the ready, while the Minerva's pilots all made last minute checks to their machines, just to be sure all was functional for the time when Zaft would draw it's sword.

* * *

Heaven's Base:

The Alliance, while sticking to the philosophy of 'quantity over quality' were not slouching in their preparations for the coming battle that was to take place. The intercoms were flooded with numerous voices directing actions around the base while mobile suits and mobile armors alike were prepped for attack.

"Gates C18 through 31 will be sealed from this point forward. As personal please hurry with your assigned tasks."

"All personal begin evacuating F-class facilities to underground shelters. Defensive plan omega in effect."

"Seventh mobile group in position. Standby for orders."

"Power supply to Nibelung will commence in thirty minutes."

"You know, I wonder why we're standing out here right now anyway..." Questioned one Alliance soldier who was standing near a row of tanks.

"What... what do you mean?" He comrade asked, standing on top of one of said tanks before nearly falling over, the ground violently shaking as if an earthquake had gone off in the region, when in reality it was just the elevators for mobile suits at work.

"I mean... why do we have to stand here... and work on... tanks? Couldn't we have been mobile suit pilots too? That way at least we'd stand a fly's chance against the space beasts and their one eyed monsters!"

"Meh, HQ says that tanks are good for shooting down their swimmers before they reach the shore... and besides, even if we were in one of those puppies..." He points towards a Dagger equipped with a AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker, it's dark green "Agni" 320mm Hyper Impulse Beam cannon lazily pointed towards the ground. "We would be food for their advanced machines... you know, the one's with an advanced acronym O.S.? Gundam, I think it's called."

"Gundams? From what I know Zaft only has one functional right now. One guy isn't going to take on all of Heaven's Base! We'll send him back home to his mommy quicker than you can say 'genetic patchwork!'" The soldier standing on the ground replied, his tone made of the typical arrogance of the Alliance.

* * *

Heaven's Base Control Room:

"Hmm, they warned us and now they're actually coming to get us? Waiting outside? Durandal must be feeling awfully good about himself these days." Djibril quacked.

"But do you think we're sufficiently protected here, Djibril?" One of the fellow Logos members inquired.

"Protected? Humph." Djibril scoffed, letting his black cat, Paladin off his lap before standing up. "What ever are you talking about? We're going to be launching an all out attack. Starting here and now... we're going to be putting on the pressure. He says if they destroy us the war will end and all will be at peace... pah! The foolish, ignorant masses are easily bought by populist nonsense such as that. However... that is exactly why we must end this battle decisively, here and now. Bring Zaft down and Durandal with it! Stomp them beneath our boots, once and for all! We have to destroy Durandal at all costs before the world truly does reach the point of no return and he reaches the stage where false, flawed dreams can be transformed into reality, or at least he can try to do that. Should that happen then all of humanity will be lost and our entire race and the legacy it has made for itself will be doomed."

"You may be correct. Even if they manage to eliminate us it's more than likely they will simply take our place in the grand scheme of things." Another member spoke up.

"After all we're practical men here... we know there are no such things as True Saints or Righteous Crusaders for the sake of Justice and all." Bruno Azrael stated, taking a puff of a cigar in the process.

"This isn't a matter of right or wrong... nor is it a matter of something that can be simplified down to two words known as the 'Status quo', this is how the world works. Time and time again, from the era of the crimson flags, hammers, stars, and sickles to even now, there have been fools who simply cannot comprehend that concept; that reality. Well then, if they can't understand the truth for what it is, then they should not be allowed to exist on this Earth for any longer, right?" Djibril raised his voice somewhat, quickly turning to face and each and every Logos member, as well as the Alliance personal in the base, who all quickly answered with replies of 'yes' and 'right' alongside affirming nods. "Durandal, you have made the grave mistake of coming out here to the front lines yourself... hmmph." He smiled.

* * *

Minerva Sick Bay:

The automatic door parted itself gently as a concerned Zaft red suit waltzed inside the room still in uniform, his red eyes making note of the doctor and nurse as they quietly worked at their stations.

"Is... is she alright?" Shinn asked, looking towards a sleeping Stella in one of the beds.

"Yes, the procedure was a complete success and she'll be out of that bed in no time... as to what she'll do, that's for you to decide, I guess." The doctor answered from his desk, not even bothering to turn and look at the familiar pilot.

"I see. Okay then... figure I'd check up on her, but if she's snoozing..." He looked at the blonde again to make sure she really was asleep, and judging by the look on her peaceful face, she was. "... I might as well take my leave until later when she's better." He turned around and motioned towards the exit, only to find a voice calling for him.

"Shinn..." Stella said from her bed lightly, forcing a quick turn from the Impulse's pilot to look at her. Yes, she had her eyes closed but he knew it was her voice, and with his mouth partially open, he closed in. "Yes? Stella?" He questioned, leaning next to her bed.

"Where... where are we? I knew from the way the ship is moving, we're probably on the sea, but where?" She asked, slowly opening her eyes afterwords and giving him a sweet smile.

"We're..." Shinn braced himself. "We're at Heaven's Base, or at least we're outside of it. Do you know what Heaven's Base is?"

"Yes, I know..."

'She said 'I know' rather then 'Stella knows', why? Must have been part of the operation to make her 'normal' again.' He thought.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, leaning her head towards him.

"The Chairman has demanded that they hand over several criminals... Logos is what their group is called. If they don't do that, then we'll attack, and we're going to try to take out the base. Don't worry though, you'll be safe on the Minerva." He informed. However much to his surprise, she seemed to rock a little bit in her bed, shaking even. "What's wrong?"

"What... what about you? Will you be protected? Heaven's Base... it has... a lot of machines there... so will you be okay?" She asked, quite distressed.

"Don't worry, Shinn will..."

"'I will'!"

'And now she's correcting my grammar.' He rolled his red eyes. "... I will be fine. I can handle myself against the stuff the Alliance will throw at us, and with the others out there... Rey, Luna, Heine..." His tone shifted towards one of anger and annoyance. "... Athrun out there, I'll probably be the least of their concerns." He explained, receiving a nod in response.

"I understand... then... come back to me, alright?"

"I will, I'll come back to keep you safe."

"And be sure... to... teach those Alliance guys... teach them a lesson they won't forget!" She stated, a slight roar in her voice.

"What?"

"I remember... all those terrible things... all those painful memories, being locked in a dark room all alone for a time when I was little... I was so scared... so isolated... and so ignorant. I cried out for help, and nothing responded. When I was released the first thing they did was give me a 'good' slap and tell me that I should have earned by lesson..." A tear of sincere sorrow started to leak out of Stella's left, while Shinn focused his entire being on her. Every word she said, every action she made, and every tear she cried... he observed. "That wasn't even the worst thing they made me do... I remember... killing... to kill or be killed, to fight or be beaten... and to dominate or be dominated by others, people like me, just ones... young... scared and confused." She cried.

"They... they did this to you? Did they really do all those things to you?" Shinn asked. His right fist seemed to tighten somewhat at her words.

"Yes... those ones... the Alliance... Blue Cosmos... and I remember seeing him one day as he observed us, picking and choosing the few who would survive... who had reached an acceptable standard... to serve his needs..." She tilted her head and looked Shinn right in the eyes, purple to red. "Lord Djibril..."

At that moment, Shinn stood up and looked away at the wall in front of him, his hands not clenched but rather his fingers made gestures that they would make as if they were choking the life out of someone viciously and without mercy. Stella observed a fragment of light reflect off of the area below Shinn's right eye, a deflected ray of photons indicating a small tear as he held in his anger.

"Damn them... damn them to hell..." Shinn grunted.

"Shinn..." Stella whispered, once stealing his attention. "You were angry when learned the truth about Kira... and now you're angry because I told you a little bit about what I had to do. If you could... if you could go out there and manage to beat Kira using that anger... then you can defeat Logos... go out there and teach them a lesson... not just for me, but for Sting and Auel... who I'll never see again..." Her voice gradually became more emotional as she went on, while Shinn managed to calm himself and bring his tone from subjective emotionalism to objective neutrality, or at least try to.

"Logos... is already defeated... they just don't know it yet..." He stated, leaving the room afterwords.

"Good... luck... take care... and be safe..." Was all Stella could muster before falling back asleep again.

* * *

Minerva pilot's room, at the exact same time:

The pilots of the four new nuclear powered Zaft gundams stood waiting in the chamber outside the mobile suit deck in their flights on and their helmets in hand. Lunamaria and Athrun sat on polar opposite sides of the bench in the middle of the room, although the magenta haired teen's head was tilted towards the roof while the Red Knight stared into his helmet. Heine relaxed against one of the corners of the room while Rey stood stoically near the window with his arms crossed, observing the activities of the hanger bay.

"You know, I gotta wonder, why are we still even here? I mean, there's still a couple of hours until the deadline passes anyway." The one female broke the silence.

"Luna..." Athrun spoke. "Since when did the Alliance need a deadline to fire a nuclear missile at Junius Seven? Or launch not one, but TWO additional strikes during this war?"

"He's right, it's best we wait here until we're called into battle. For all we know they could strike any moment now. This is _Logos _we're talking about." Rey added, only moving the muscles that controlled his jaw in the process.

"True, but Luna brought up a good point... we've been sitting out here since my father ordered us too. Don't you think we should do something to at least... pass the time? Or at least keep us sharp? Don't want to go out there half as sleep now do we?" Heine questioned, expressing his thoughts in a somewhat humorous fashion.

"You're right, but what can we do in here, Heine? I mean, it's not like these rooms are meant to be playgrounds!" Luna stated as Athrun angled his head up so that it was on par with the horizontal and turned to the girl.

"We could plan our strategy, or at least refine it in the time being." He suggested.

"Hmmph..." Rey grumbled, turning around and facing the other three. "I agree. Against something like Heaven's Base, we're going to need some sort of plan, or at least ideas on what to do."

"Sounds like a plan... pardon the pun." Heine giggled, the four FAITH pilots congregating together in the middle of the room.

"Hey, shouldn't we wait until all of us are here? I mean, what about Shinn? He'll be fighting with us too, won't he?" Luna asked, lowering her eyebrows into a worried state.

"He's probably messing around with that girl in the sick bay right now. Besides, the Impulse is outclassed by each of our machines. I doubt we'll need much help from him." Athrun replied quite bitterly, while Luna gave off a great, heaved, angry moan.

"What's with him and her anyway? Yeah, he captured her but so what? I mean, she was the pilot of the Gaia... the GAIA! You know how much trouble that machine actually gave us? She almost killed me because she had a more powerful machine... a couple of times! And what was Durandal thinking by just allowing her to get off Scott free!" The Elder Hawke sister ranted.

"Settle down, Luna. I'm sure that the Chairman knows what he's doing with that girl. I wouldn't be incredibly concerned over it." Rey said, earning an angry glare from the disgruntled girl. "Besides, she won't be fighting in the Gaia again and even if she does somehow get a chance to take off in that suit once more... well, now you have something that you can use to properly teach her a lesson."

"Hmm..." Luna grinned. "I guess you're right."

"Okay then, enough about Shinn and the Alliance girl." Athrun spat.

"I agree, let's not derail ourselves." Heine added. "So, what are we going to be up against?"

"I'd imagine that we'll face a couple of Windams and Daggers in the air. Knowing the EA they probably have a few artillery guns on the ground but we can ignore them due to Phase Shift... hmm... and I bet there will be some aquatic suits but the ASHs, GOOhNs and ZnOs can deal with them accordingly." Athrun informed.

"Don't forget about those mobile armors too... like the ones you saw outside Carpentaria and in Gulnahan." Heine responded.

"Oh, and those too..." Athrun snapped his right finger.

"Well... that's that then..." Luna stated in a somewhat relaxed tone as the silent member of their team made his way over to the screen mounted on the wall.

"Guys, you're forgetting about something else. Something none of us have fought yet, and it would be a crucial mistake on our part if we just forgot about them..." Rey stated coldly, pressing a few buttons until several images of a large, dark black mobile armor/mobile suit, equipped with an arsenal of arsenals appeared on the screen. As it appeared, Luna gasped, placing her hand over her mouth, Heine crossed his arms and let out a low growl. "They're likely to have at least one of these here." The Legacy's pilot warned.

* * *

"I'm reporting live from above Heaven's Base." A random news reporter stated as the ships, which had now come to a waiting rest, gathered at Logos' doorstep. "Right now the deadline Chairman Durandal issued draws closer with every passing minute. Only three hours remain until it expires. However as of this moment there has been no response from the Alliance Forces. Should the deadline pass with no reply the Zaft and anti-Logos coalition forces, acting under the leadership of Chairman Durandal, will most assuredly open fire upon Heaven's Base. This could be a significant blow to the Alliance, since this is their greatest stronghold which includes military factories as well as the base facilities themselves. Should there be a battle, it will most likely be of a violent nature, with little quarter given by either side."

"Oh, there will be no quarter given... you've got that right you bloody parrot." Djibril stated from the Command Center, listening to the broadcast. "But a significant blow? To them, but not us... mwhahaha..."

"Sir, our forces are ready for the operation." Commander Cody McGilligan stated from below Djibril. "Shall we begin?" He asked while the second in command, Mark Rempy stood by silently.

"Wait... Djibril... are they ready? Is 'it' ready?" Bruno Azrael inquired, coming up behind Djibril.

"What do you mean by 'they' and 'it'? Be specific!" Djibril barked as Mark took his commander's microphone and spoke into it.

"Yes, all five Destroys are prepared for the operation..." He paused. "However, we did not have time to make the necessary repairs to the _other thing_ I'm sure you're talking about. If we sent _it_ into battle _it_ would probably be shut down given _it's_ current state."

"Hey! Give me that back!" Cody ripped the microphone back. "So, shall I give the order to unleash Heaven upon the forces of hell?" He asked, just waiting for permission with great anxiety.

"Hehehe... fortune favors the bold, does it not? We have to fight sooner or later and since they think we're trapped in a corner, I suppose we should use their arrogance to our advantage. So yes, do so. Begin the attack." Djibril chuckled.

"All forces, first missile wave and artillery strikes, open fire." Cody grinned.

* * *

At that moment, the sun, or at least what could be seen of it through the cloud layer, was utterly bloated out as an incalculable amount of missiles soared high into the air, leaving trails of smoke behind them before arching and coming back down upon their targets while landlocked tanks simultaneously unleashed vicious salvos from their main guns.

Minerva bridge:

"Enemy missile launches! I... I can't count how many!" Bart warned, from his station, his eyes wide with fear and his mouth gasping for breath at what he was seeing.

"They're attacking?" Durandal protested.

"Now? Dammit!" Talia groaned.

"Alliance dogs..." Kendan spat. Although he suspected as much this still came as a surprise nonetheless.

"Intercept! Anti-air, open fire!" Arthur jerked in response, letting out a quick order as the crew scrambled to work.

'We won't have much to worry about but some of the weaker vessels upfront are finished no matter what you try.' Kendan thought as the projectiles pelted down upon the front lines, smashing into the hulls and decks of many alliance vessels, some of them sinking and some of them suffering major damage as the Minerva's forward vision of the horizon and Heaven's Base was blocked by a thick cloud of explosive action, debris, and excited water.

* * *

"Attack is underway! Deploy all mobile suit and mobile armor teams!" An announcer's voice rippled through Heaven's base while numerous Windams lifted up off of the ground and several mobile armors did the same.

"Deploy second and third mobile groups. All weapon's free!"

"Seventh and fifteenth defense squadrons, launch!"

"Heavy damages to the front lines..." Bart scrambled to update the Minerva's bridge.

"Have those vessels fall back to our location and give the order for them to deploy whatever mobile suits they have while they're still afloat." Kendan ordered.

"Incoming mobile suits and mobile armors! It's... a full scale attack!" Bart added.

"A full scale attack? They haven't even replied yet!" Talia yelled.

* * *

Heaven's Base control room:

"That ought a teach them a lesson..." Mark stated coldly.

"Oh, there's more to come... just wait and see..." Commander McGiligan replied, looking up to the window where Djibril was, only to receive a large smirk in response. "Right then... DESTROYS ONE THROUGH FIVE, LAUNCH!" He ordered at the top of his lungs as the entire base seemed to shake around him, several large hanger bay doors opening wide to reveal several large, dark machines in mobile armor mode before they began to thrust forward out to the sea. "And don't hold back! Send them home crying!"

"No, no, no..." Djibril mentioned over the line from above. "You've got it wrong. Don't sent them home crying... kill every last one of them! Every. Last. One." He growled.

"Sir!" Cody chuckled.

'This guy... he's insane...' Mark Rempy shook his head in disgust.

* * *

Minerva Bridge:

"Another one of these?" Talia opened her eyes in shock at the oncoming death machines.

"As expected... Gladys..." Kendan crossed his arms.

"Detecting five of them." Bart warned.

"Holy hell! Five... FIVE OF THEM!" Arthur freaked.

"Five of them..." Kendan sat back in his seat, clearly shaken by this development. "Now... that's... something to worry about..." He chocked, looking on ahead to observe what looked like the Destroys aiming their large pair of "Aufprall Dreizehn" High-energy Beam Cannons.

"All units, pull back!" Talia ordered, as the Admiral quickly snapped his head in her direction.

'Gladys... it's too late... fool.' He thought.

A large wave of harmful beam energy seemed to emanate from the Destroys as they fired their cannons, the powerful beams of energy blazing across the battlefield and devastating the vessels and mobile suits at the very front lines of the attacking fleet, blinding the vision of the battlefield and giving birth to a large wave that swept over the sea, causing the occupants of all the ships to brace themselves as it struck their vessels.

"It's a massacre... damn Djibril." Durandal groaned.

"Mr. Chairman at this rate..." Another Zaft officer tried to warn him.

"Yes I know that, thank you." The Chairman snapped. "So be it, our forces are to return fire immediately."

"Go to condition red. All hands prepare for battle!" Captain Talia Gladys ordered as the sirens on the Minerva went off.

"Inform the orbital fleet that it's time to strike! Let us rain hell upon them from both the sea and the sky!" Kendan commanded with vigor.

"Sir..." Bart answered.

* * *

Rousseau Bridge:

"Commander, we've received a message from the Minerva. Operation Ragnarok is underway."

"Great, about time!" Yzak shouted. "Order all ships to begin final procedures for the drop, and do it quickly!"

"Sir!"

"Now let's see just what Athrun and his group can do down there against the Alliance!" The silver haired white shirt crossed his arms. As much as he would like to fly down there in the Duel right now with Dearka in the Buster following him, he had his own responsibilities right now.

* * *

In the meantime Zaft was getting pumbled, hard. Below the water's surface the two forces fought with all they could as mono-eyes beasts that would scare the living hell out of any ignorant sailor battled humanoid, trident armed mobile suits, spawned from later development of the GAT-X252 Forbidden that took part in the first war.

Above the water's surface the Destroys made everything ten times worse. DINNs and BABIs were shot out of the sky instantaneously from the oncoming barrage of beams that burst from the Destroy's backpacks, while missiles closed in and made sure that any suits lucky enough to survive the beams were grounded, permanently.

* * *

"Condemnation... and ideals, are fine. However, they mean nothing..." Djibril spoke from the control room. "... unless you win, for the winner takes all. It has always been that way and it always WILL be that way, Durandal, you miserable fool."

"Sir, Zaft descent pods detected above us."

"Prepare for fire Nibelung."

"Aye."

'The ultimate defense for when those damned coordinators attempt to drop their ugly mobile suits on us...' Djibril thought as the base seemed to shake with power once more, except this time one of the mountains seemed to crack and split open, literally, grasping the attention of all nearby soldiers attempting to hold their balance. Meanwhile inside the mountain was a rather large dish, and a large, complex looking rod in the middle.

"Preparations for firing Nibelung complete!"

"Fire..." Djibril ordered, completely neutral in his tone as the rod in the middle of the dish seemed to light up, creating a sound very similar to gamma ray cannon known as GENESIS, several high frequency wave-particle photons shooting off of the rod and onto the dish, reflecting from it and bursting upwards, igniting the sky as the Zaft descent pods opened up to reveal armed ZAKUs and GOUFs, waiting to get into the battle. However, most of these soldiers would be out of luck as the gamma rays impacted their machines, corrupting and destroying both man and metal as clouded sky above seemed to explode with the power of many mobile suits simultaneously bursting into flames.

'Yeah, you may have the masses, you may have the talking ability, but I have all the _real _power, Durandal, and I've got even more tricks up my sleeves for you, should this pathetic excuse of an attack manage to survive my wrath, you son of a bitch.' Djibril yawned in an incredibly calm manner, placing his right hand in front of his mouth as the Zaft descent forces died out.

* * *

"What is this?! Oh no!" Arthur protested.

"Descent forces... wiped out?" Bart informed, quickly typing away at his station to see if even a couple of the Zaft machines had managed to survive.

"Are... are they completely gone?" Talia asked.

"Mr. Chairman... orders!" One of the unnamed officers requested, only to have Durandal ignore him and stare out onto the shore and skyline in front of him with utter disgust.

"Hold on... I think... they weren't all wiped out... we've still got some fighting strength left from the descent! But only twenty percent of the original mobile suits survived! They're making their way towards the base right now!" Bart almost yelled while trying to explain that as Kendan leaned forward.

"Alright then, it's time to go at them with everything we've got. Order all vessels to advance upon Heaven's Base and launch all remaining machines. We must take them down with the remaining strength that we have." Kendan asserted.

"What? Are you mad? We've barely put a dent in their numbers and with the unexpected damage they've done..." Talia tried to counter as Kendan turned to her.

"Are you disputing the orders of a superior, _Captain?_" He barked, causing the two to lock eyes angrily at one another for a small period of time. 'We're doing this whether you like it or not, Gladys.'

"Alright that's enough..." Durandal sighed, relaxing himself after all that he had seen and addressing the two of them. "We can't just back off after all that's happened, so I'm siding with the Admiral on this. Launch all machines. We'll strike them down while they stand upon a false pillar of arrogance and certainty." Durandal stated, causing Gladys to pause for a second while Kendan continued to eye her with anger and hatred, the women turning to face the front of the bridge a second later.

"Alright then... Assassin, Colossus, Crusader, Legacy and Impulse, launch!" Talia commanded.

* * *

"What the hell did they build here?" Heine questioned over the communications line as the four Zaft gundams prepared to launch from the ship's catapult.

"I don't know, but we're taking them out for that! It's... unbelievable just what those bastards will do!" Athrun answered.

"I know. However we must keep calm and coordinate our efforts, now more than ever. Do you all remember the plan?" Rey inquired.

"Sure do, just clear a path for me and I'll take them down!" Luna raged.

"Good, right then..." Rey answered, still noticing the expression on Athrun's face over the line. "Is there something bothering you, Athrun?"

"Hmm... Shinn wants me to 'earn my rank', eh? Well then, I think it's time I make that little punk eat his words, don't you agree?" Athrun responded, his tone full of bitterness as well as contempt.

"If you say so, Athrun." Rey responded, not really giving a damn either way as the first two machines prepared to launch.

"X35S and X70S, clear for launch." Meyrin informed, her voice echoed across the entire hanger bay.

"Heine Westenfluss, Assassin, launching!" The orange haired pilot said, thrusting forward on the track as his machine jumped into the air, spinning around as it's phase shift activated to reveal a dark neon purple and orange color scheme, a red v-fin and green eyes.

"Lunamaria Hawke, Colossus, taking off." The girl braced herself as her massive gundam accelerated forward and left the ship, it's dull, gray skin phase shifting to a dark purple and rich pink color scheme, it's positron cannon gray and it's cannons a distinct blood red. To top it all off the suit's v-fin was pure white and the head looked out from yellow eyes.

"X19S and X20S, you've waited long enough." Meyrin spoke once more.

"Athrun Zala, Crusader, launching!" The successor to the Justice burst forward as the Fatum-10 backpack it had opened it's wings wide and tilted upwards, the suit changing it's palate to a red and pink scheme with a dark brown chest, as well as a single yellow v-fin above green eye optics.

"Rey Za Burrel, in Legacy, taking off!" The final completed gundam left the Minerva at a high speed, morphing from dull shades of dark gray to lighter shades of the same color, as well as some outlining baby blue in places. The Legacy's chest cannon seemed to be almost gold like and the rail cannons were espresso brown, while the head featured and white and yellow v-fin and bright yellow eyes.

"Alright then, what am I being sent out in?" Shinn questioned from the Core Splendor, making every last minute check he could to ensure that nothing would go wrong with his machine.

"Because we're moving up close the Captain wants you to use the Blast Silhouette first and then maybe change it as the battle progresses." Meyrin answered.

"Got it. Haven't used the Blast in a while though."

"You're clear to launch."

"Understood. Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!" He roared, the small fighter plane that formed the core of the Impulse igniting it's engines and pushing forward, leaving the Minerva as the remaining three pieces of the suit followed behind it, combining together into the dark green and black ZGMF-X56S/γ Blast Impulse Gundam as the suit hovered above the water near the Minerva.

"Alright, let's go! Stick together!" Athrun ordered.

"Gotcha!" Luna replied.

"Right!" Rey answered.

"Don't mind the invisible hand!" Heine warned, the Assassin's shoulder armor splitting open as the suit began to fade from vision.

"Fine then!" Shinn followed from behind them with the Impulse, keeping a bit lower than the others.

* * *

Seiran Estate, ORB Union:

"Well it's as I expected. No matter how much 'raw raw' cheering power the masses have against Logos, no one is going to bring down the Alliance given its size and the resources it has." Yuna Roma spoke as he and his father, Yanata observed the battle via television.

"Yes..." Yanata replied silently.

"Sure, I know it lost JOSH-A in the last war even though it's being rebuilt as a smaller stronghold in a different location... but they still have Heaven's Base. And should it fall... well then, the Moon is still up and running last I heard. When I heard what Durandal was spouting I nearly lost myself it was so dumbfounding. However it looks like the Alliance is going to come out on top. It sure is a good thing we chose the correct path, isn't it, father?"

"Yes... Yuna, considering what potential loses our families have taken..." He groaned. "Now the only thing that must happen is for Durandal to be struck down... once that happens, all will be over."

* * *

"Alright, call back all but one of the Destroy's to the base so we can fortify our defense where it's the strongest, and do it quickly!" Mark Rempy ordered.

"Ah, getting a little assertive today, eh Mark?" Commander McGiligan cocked an eyebrow at his subordinate.

"It's just I'd rather not lose, or worse, die, because of overconfidence in our strategy, sir."

* * *

"DAMN YOU SON'S OF BITCHES!" Shinn yelled, bending both of his large M2000F "Kerberos" High-Energy Long-Range Beam Cannons up and firing them, taking out two Windams in his path. "Huh?" He questioned, the Impulse's sensors beeping as an explosion went of in front of him, kicking up a large amount of water. A split second later one of the Alliance's aquatic mobile suits arose from below him, the model in question being a GAT-707E Forbidden Vortex, ready to gut the Impulse with it's trident. "Oh no you don't!" Shinn yelled, powering backwards to avoid getting hit as his enemy dived underwater while small, split second memories of Shinn's duel with the Abyss gundam in the Dardanelles flashed before his mind. "You're not him! You won't be so lucky! Now take this! AHH!" He activated the two rail cannons on the silhouettes backpack and fired them into the water at his enemy, launching two volleys at the enemy machine, one of which, managed to strike it down, as indicted by the burst of liquid from down below. "Yeah, I'm coming for every single one of you!"

"Alright, that's enough out of you!" Athrun stated, the Crusader stretching it's right arm out to the side as it fired several shots from it's beam rifle, dodging fire from one Windam only to quickly evade it and return fire, the green beam impacting it's chest while the red gundam ascended and strafed to the right. "And you, too." Athrun angled his gundam's rifle arm down before sniping another Windam with his rifle, his sensors going off as another enemy approached from behind.

"Take this, coordinator!" The Windam's pilot yelled, closing in with his beam saber in hand, the mass production model raising it's right arm high into the air. "AHHH!" He swung downwards, only to have the Crusader quickly turn clockwise and slice the suit's arm clean off from the elbow via a swift upwards kick of the beams on it's right leg. "What the... guahh!" The pilot screamed out in shock, unable to do anything other than watch the gundam in front of him flip around and slice his unit in half from crotch to head, a strong pink beam emanating from the Crusader's shield.

"Rey!" Athrun called out, blocking a pair of beam blasts from an Euclid mobile armor, ascending and firing his own beam cannons shortly afterwords.

"I see them. We're still clearing a path for Luna, don't worry." Rey responded as the Legacy held out it's two beam rifles, one in each hand and shifted it's position in order to evade incoming fire. While the gray and blue suit wasn't firing back at this point in time it was gathering the attention of a lot of enemy mobile suits in the process. "That's right, keep coming..." He thought out loud, the multitude of thrusters on his suit's backpack activating and deactivating and precisely the right times so that he could perform the equivalent of a cartwheel to the right, dodging more fire as several annoyed Windam pilots pursued him but by bit. "Okay, that's enough..." He spoke coldly. While the Legacy raised it's left arm to block another shot with it's beam shield Rey himself quickly fixed his gaze upon a targeting screen that had popped up from his cockpit controls, and much like the process that Kira used in the Freedom to lock onto a multitude of target's, Rey did the same, one by one. "Now!" The Legacy stretched out it's arms but bent them, and their beam rifles, forward, it's six small DRAGOONs pointing ahead as it's two RL-532 "Xiphias Drei" Rail Cannons unfolded and straightened out, Rey unleashing a barrage from all mentioned weapons as well as Legacy's multi-phase chest cannon at the oncoming horde of Alliance suits, setting the scene in front of the Legacy on fire with the amount of explosions that went off.

"Hey, are you sure this isn't the First War and I'm at JOSH-A when the Freedom first showed up, Rey?" Heine chuckled, opening a communications line with the Legacy a second earlier.

"Yeah, are you sure you're not piloting one of those things yourself?" Luna questioned, her fellow pilot keeping a stone face.

"No, but there's one just ahead of us." The Legacy tilted it's head towards the remaining Destroy that was floating over the sea in mobile armor mode, wreaking havoc on the Zaft mass production suits. "Luna, are you good now?"

"Sure, if Heine's ready?" The Colossus' pilot replied.

"Fine by me." He answered, once again activating his mirage colloid as the Colossus ramped up it's thruster output and powered towards the lone Destroy gundam.

"Alright then, here it is... stay focused!" She breathed in a somewhat heavier than normal fashion, dodging a beam shot to her right, and then her left before activating the beam shield generators on her legs and 'kicking' an oncoming beam rifle attack, leveling off to find herself right in front of the Destroy gundam, the machine in question being guarded by a Zamza-zah mobile armor.

"HA! Big guy's going to KNOCK YOU DOWN! Your shot isn't going to do jack anyway!" The lead pilot of the crab-like mobile armor bragged as the machine activated it's positron reflector, the pilot suspecting that Luna was carrying some sort of powerful gun just by looking at the purple and pink machine in front of him.

"Wouldn't be too sure of that!" Heine grinned with pride, the Assassin decloaking right under the Zamza-zah and impaling it's belly with both of it's swords. "Now Luna!" He pulled away, the green machine falling afterwords.

"I can do this! I will do this!" Luna raised her voice, ascending and pulling up on the Colossus' controls, hard, to perform a flip while she detached the two halves of her LC-1000PC "Kristallnacht" Compact Mobile Suit Positron Cannon and caught them with each hand, combined them into one piece and charged it up as she grinned from inside her cockpit. "Get it!" An intense, white and red blast erupted from the Colossus as it diverted more power to it's vernier thrusters to minimize the recoil, the anti-matter shot blazing through the sky and erupting the air around it, striking the Destroy's shield dead on and ignoring it outright before carving out a large hole in it's body and continuing on to the sea where it encored an enormous explosion, knocking all machine's back in the process.

* * *

"Destroy four has been eliminated. Detecting matter-anti-matter reactions from the point where it was annihilated." One of the soldier's in the base's control room stated.

"What the? Was it from the Minerva? I thought that ship was in the back, and that we had our mobile armors protecting the Destroys!" Cody McGiligan raged, smashing his right fist onto one of the control consoles.

"Sir, Zaft has deployed several new machines alongside the suits we have records of. One of them appears to be equipped with mirage colloid and the other has been fitted with a scaled down positron gun!"

"What?" The commander raged. "Djibril! DJIBRIL!" He turned and yelled into the above area.

'Damn you, Durandal! You still won't pull through, even with your new toys...' Djibril grit his teeth tightly.

* * *

"Take this!" The Blast Impulse fired it's beam rifle at an oncoming enemy suit. "THIS!" He shot again, but this time with his MMI-M16XE2 "Deluge" Hyper-Velocity Rail Cannons, the sheer kinetic blast breaking the Windam's worn down shield and piercing it's body soon afterwords. "AND THIS! RAAARRRR!" He raised both of his massive beam cannons upwards and fired them again at the underside of an Euclid, punching a hole in it's body.

"Shinn, are you alright?" Meyrin questioned as she opened up a communications line.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." He shifted to the right, gripped his controls and then unleashed an octagonal barrage from both GMF39 Quadruple Missile Launchers. "What is it?"

"The Earth Forces are falling back to the shore of Heaven's Base. Captain Gladys wants you to equip the Force Silhouette now so you don't have to bother with their low ground defenses draining your battery."

"Done. Oh, and get the deuteron beam ready if I'm going to switch out of the Blast." Shinn commented.

"Right." Meyrin answered, the Minerva launching the Impulse's high agility α Force Silhouette from the central catapult, the main body powering down it's phase shift as it switched backpacks and put on a white, red, and blue color scheme. "Firing deuteron beam." A ray of energy shot out of the orange bulb on the side of the ship's bridge at the Impulse, striking the jewel on it's forehead and recharging the battery to full.

"Much better..." He gripped his controls. "Alright Meyrin, I'm gone!" Shinn let out a gentle roar, pushing his controls to the max, the thrusters on the Impulse firing up to top speeds as the gundam sped towards it's nuclear powered counterparts.

* * *

As the remaining four Destroy gundams made their way to the shore where they could shift into mobile suit mode the four new Zaft models led the charge towards the Alliance.

"Luna, are you ready to fire another shot off?" Heine questioned as he extended both of the Assassin's HA-M762W "Elektrisch" Electro-Whips out and swung them around in a violent but dictated fashion, destroying two Windam's in the process and slicing the backpack of one off, causing it to fall below into the cold water.

"Not yet! Geez! Takes the damn thing a couple minutes to recharge after each shot given how much power from the reactor is diverted to it!" She answered, raining down suppressive fire onto a couple of hostile suits, unfolding her main cannons into their very long sniper rifle modes and firing them afterwords.

"If that's the case then we'll clear out those two mobile armors escorting one of them! Rey!" Athrun shouted, diving down and forward towards two Gells-Ghe's that had taken position behind one of the Destroys.

"Hmmph..." The Legacy's pilot followed suit, it's sensors beeping as took note of the approaching Impulse that was entangled in enemy fire. "Shinn, back off a little!" Rey warned, strafing in the direction of the Impulse and pointing it's small DRAGOONs forward again, launching a green beam salvo towards the opposing units.

"Heh, thanks Rey." Shinn replied, some sweat dripping from his brow. Then out of nowhere the two machine pulled back as a large and powerful beam shot blitzed pasted the two of them, originating from a Launcher Striker-equipped Strike Dagger. "Bastard!" The Impulse calibrated it's beam rifle to lock onto the opposing unit and fired three shots in it's direction, the enemy pilot dodging the first and second beams but not the third one as his suit's agility did not allow it.

"That'll teach them to keep using outdated models like that." Rey stated calmly. "Now come help me and Athrun deal with some of these machines." Rey ordered, his tone expressing a veiled authority that Shinn understood, and groaned in response to.

"Alright then." The two began to close in upon the Crusader.

"AHHH!" Athrun screamed, the main body of his machine leaping off of it's Fatum-10 sub light lifter with it's beam sabers combined together as it dived towards one of the Gells-Ghe's, clashing down upon the mobile armor's shield and performing a series of powerful strikes from all of it's close quarters melee weapons to occupy the pilots as he tried to 'find a weak spot'. "Grr..." The Red Knight ground his teeth, perform one futile hack and slash after the next.

"Would you stop it, that won't do anything!" The three pilot's of the armor laughed as the Crusader backed off slightly and the upper body of the Gells-Ghe raised both of it's M7045/F Beam Rifles and fired, Athrun blocking both of them with his beam shield.

"Hmm..." He looked at the machine with a slightly saddened expression as suddenly the Fatum-10 burst from behind it with all of it's beams activated before flying back to the Crusader's backside a second later. "One down..."

"We're going to try to mimic that, Shinn. Get behind it!" Rey ordered as the Legacy closed in on the secondary Gells-Ghe guarding the retreating Destroy.

'Oh please I could think of a tactic ten times better than 'copy Athrun Zala'.' Shinn snorted, evading some offensive fire from the Destroy's backpack mounted beam guns as he angled around the mobile armor which had it's main guns targeted at the Legacy, while the Legacy itself was preparing for a full burst at it. As the small DRAGOONs bent forward and the Rail cannons straightened out the Gells-Ghe activated it's shield to block the damage. However the sheer force of the Legacy's barrage did manage to overpower it's forward thrusters and push it back forcibly and out of it's pilot's control, which Shinn greatly capitalized on. "Done!" He said as the suit fell to the sea below him, it's body on fire and it's thrusters cut.

"Good!" Rey turned towards the Colossus was and where he thought the Assassin was. "Luna, all clear!"

"On it!" She unleashed a blast from her chest cannon and reached for the two halves of the positron cannon once more, compound two into one and aimed it at the retreating Destroy while a Windam approached her from the left with it's beam saber drawn. A Windam that she ignored.

"Oh no you don't! FOR THE PRESERVATION OF OUR BLUE AND PURE..." The pilot screamed as his suit was punched in the gut by an invisible force and then stabbed in the back by a beam blade.

"Oh yes we do, now go to sleep with the fishes, will you?" Heine smirked with confidence, decloaking right as the Colossus fired it's anti-matter blast dead on towards the slowly traveling Destroy which was unable to move, crashing the beam into it's it's backpack from above at an angle as the entire metal beast seemed to erupt and explode, the five gundam pilots bracing themselves in the process.

* * *

Heaven's Base Control Room:

"Destroy two has been shot down!"

"Remaining Destroys have made it to the shore!"

"Djibril... I'm getting a little worried." One of the bald, bearded Logos members expressed his concern.

"Shut it!" Djibril snapped. "We'll be fine. As long as he hold our ground here and concentrate fire upon that blasted fat-ass machine! Bring it down, it can't be _that _agile!" He ordered.

"MEOW!" Paladin roared, rushing over to the glass window and seeming to 'scratch' in the direction of the Colossus.

* * *

"Here they come. Luna, I think they might be after... grr... you!" Shinn grunted, locking himself in a beam saber fight with a Windam for a short period of time until the Zaft suit won the brawl in a clash of blades.

"You think so, smart guy?" Lunamaria responded, backing off while pelting oncoming hostiles with her pair of LC-453GC "Perforieren" Beam Gatling Guns. "Because I couldn't think of anything else to say about what's happening!" She screamed from the pressure being placed on her suit as several more Windams and Euclid mobile armors closed in upon the Colossus as it activated all four of it's beam shields and withdrew both of it's large beam sabers for defensive purposes.

"Keh!" Shinn groaned.

"Alright guys that's enough arguing! Let's refocus our efforts. There are still three of those things remaining." Rey warned, shooting down an enemy Windam with the beam rifle in his right hand in the process. While the gundams were doing a good job of besting their enemies the Alliance was still holding rather steady against the Zaft mass production models, and while the descent forces had causes some havoc in the base it seemed that the transformation of the Destroys would shift the battle slightly in their favor if nothing was done. As the three remaining massive gundams landed on the ground of the base they aimed the triplet of cannons mounted in their chests as well as the gun in their mouth at the Zaft suits and fired, making quick work of several GOUFs, DINNs, BABIs and Guul mounted ZAKUs.

"Dammit! Pull back. New plan... grr..." Athrun groaned, shifting from left to right in order to dodge the beam shots aimed at him. In the meantime one of the Destroy's unleashed a barrage from it's twenty "Nefertem 503" Thermal Plasma Composite Cannons, one of the Guuled ZAKU's suffering a hit to it's fight platform and being forced to jump off as it exploded, falling to the sea where several Alliance mobile suits gleefully awaited it's descent into the water.

"Shit! I'm done for!" The ZAKU Warrior pilot screamed, trying to mess with his controls to level off his suit, utterly unable to do so.

"No you're not! Don't worry!" Athrun raged, a green SEED exploding in his determined eyes, the Crusader deploying it's Fatum-10 sub light lifter and directing downwards, literally catching the Slash ZAKU just before it landed in the water, where it most assuredly would have been destroyed. "I got you, it's fine." He explained, blocking another beam hit with his shield while the lifter ascended to his altitude and a DINN approached the gundam and mass production model. "Take him back to the fleet." Athrun ordered, the DINN 'nodding it's head' in response, sweeping up the ZAKU and taking it away. "Alright guys, new plan now. Since they're onto our plan I think Luna should back off for a little while the rest of us take the heat off of her. Sound good?" He asked.

"Grr..." Shinn groaned.

"Fine then." Luna responded, the Colossus turning around and breaking away from the front lines.

"Okay, if it's going to be that way..." Rey pondered for a second in the Legacy's cockpit while keeping an eye on enemy suits, backfliping over a Zamza-zah that had tried to snatch him up with his claws and then blasting it in the back with his chest cannon and rail cannon combo. "Heine, you go down below and take care of their ground defense so our amphibious models can make shore easier. Athrun, stick with me. Shinn, call in and equip the Sword Silhouette, I have an idea. We're going to bring one of them down and we won't need Lunamaria for this." He explained.

"What? The Sword? Against this many?" Shinn complained.

"Yes. Now, do it." Rey commanded. 'We're doing this for the Chairman, for our dreams, so just deal with it, Shinn. We're all means to an end.'

* * *

"See, I told you, there forces are at a standstill now that we've reached our strongest point. It'll only be a matter of time before victory is ours." Djibril bragged from the control room so as to calm down his fellow Logos members which were beginning to get anxious.

"Fine then..." Bruno Azrael let out a sigh of relief. "Just be sure we don't get anymore surprises now, alright?"

Paladin hissed in response.

* * *

Several amphibious Zaft mobile suits such as the ZnO and GOOhN approached the Shore of Iceland, suffering under the tank fire that was raining down onto them, and destroying them one after the other.

"See, this is why we were assigned this job." One of the two soldiers from earlier said as he and his comrade continued to work at firing shot after shot at the slowly approaching suits.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. They're sitting ducks right now! Just look at em!" The other man said, unleashing a blast at one of the incoming ZnOs, striking it directly in the mono eye and blasting it's head off, the green machine falling back down into the water afterwords, exploding a few seconds later.

"Good shot!"

"Thanks!" The firing crewman replied, a slight smirk on his face as he calibrated the gun to fix upon his next victim, one of the newer models known as the ASH. "Alright, here we..."

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP **_

A long, red, and metallic whip came out of nowhere and swept across the row of tanks, slicing through each and everyone of them as the ground itself seem to cut along it's path, a chain of explosions taking place seconds later.

"Why hello there!" Heine laughed at the destruction, retracting the heat whip into the Assassin's left arm before powering to the left slightly in order to avoid a large energy blast from an opposing Strike Dagger equipped with long range equipment. "Why don't you say hello to my little friend?" The Westenfluss grinned, stretching out his right arm as a small pink beam burst out of it and raced towards the Dagger at lightning quick speeds, impaling it in the chest before it could even react.

The small, triangular shaped β Sword Silhouette pack mounted itself onto the back of the gray Impulse, who's color quickly transformed once again to a pure white, bright red and pitch black color scheme. As the three gundams; the Legacy, Crusader and Impulse approached one of the Destroy's the enormous black mobile suit launched both of it's "Sturm Faust" Detachable Remote Weapon Arms, the hand guards of each quickly turning on their beam shields as they circled around the trio of gundams as well as any mass production models nearby, attempting to shoot them down while the main body released an endless barrage of fire from operational arsenal.

"Shinn... what did... err..." Rey grunted, the Legacy back flipping and strafing to avoid incoming fire. "... say you did against the first one you battled in Eurasia?"

"Because we could really use that information right now, considering Luna's in the back as support." Athrun grunted, blocking and evading shot after shot, his SEED mode eyes quickly dancing from one point to another.

"We got in close while he was firing and took shots at him. But... our beam sabers didn't manage to go deep enough to... wait that's it..." The Impulse ducked under it's collapsed shield as five beams from the Destroy's right hand rained down upon it before the Legacy landed on top of it and forced it downwards and out of control, one of the beam boomerangs from the Crusader's shield coming in from a ways and slicing the hand in two in the process. "You think if it's the Excalibur this time around... why didn't you tell me earlier, asshole!" Shinn grunted, causing Rey to crack a slight, subtle smile. The Impulse then reached over it's left shoulder and took hold of one of it's anti-ship swords and whipped the deactivated blade at the Legacy, which caught it and turned on it's beam.

"Exactly! Athrun, let's got." Rey commanded.

"Right!" The Crusader combined it's twin AJ-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Sabers together into a naginata, fired up the thrusters both on it's lifter and around it's body as he headed for the Destroy gundam alongside the Legacy and the Sword Impulse, which now held it's remaining blade in hand.

"We have to be precise and make just the right moves! Be ready to evade in a split second, got it!" The blonde warned, a blue SEED falling in his eyes and breaking open, the Legacy's evasive maneuvers now matching the Crusader's while the three of them began to ludicrous amounts of fire from the Destroy.

"You're going to pay for this, LOGOS!" Shinn raged his voice full of determination, the Sword Impulse making quick rolls and turns to the left and right before reaching it's target and taking a massive swipe at it, breaking off the Destroy's left shoulder from the connecting joint before ascending above and performing a whirlwind motion that snapped the barrels of the suit's large beam cannons off.

"I'm here to bring this madness to an end! Now!" Athrun roared, causing a massive gash in the Destroy's upper right chest before slicing it's head unit in two with the beam on the Crusader's right foot.

"And now for the finish!" Rey calmly grinned to himself. With one final, massive slice the Legacy's Excalibur bit into the torso of the Destroy right where the upper body was connected to the waist as the bright pink beam cut across from right to left, violently swinging across the front of the lightly colored mobile suit after it left the torso. "Done." He sneered, the Destroy's abdomen failing bit by bit until the sound of buckling metal overtook the area when the weight of it's massive backpack severed the entire body into two different pieces which fell apart onto the ground before causing a thundering explosion.

After that the three male pilots were huffing greatly while their bangs and faces were the sites of many sweat drops, although the one who was not in SEED mode, Shinn, was sweating more than the others.

"Nice moves, Shinn. I admit, I'm quite impressed, and I see how credible your explanation of Operation Angel Capture is now." Rey complimented.

"You see? I _earned _this red uniform, Rey, fair and square." Shinn quipped as Athrun rolled his SEED mode eyes in response. "Now, where's Luna. I'm sure she's ready to blast another one of these damn things back to HELL!" He turned his attention to one of the two remaining Destroys and looked for intense beam shots coming from somewhere near it. After a few seconds of evading hostile fire, he noticed a powerful energy cannon blast rip through the air and strike down several enemy suits before crashing into the water below and kicking up a ton of water.

* * *

"Destroy three... contact lost..." Someone inside Heaven's Base reported, his voice one of utter shock and disbelief. "And this time I am not detecting evidence of an annihilation reaction in the area where it was."

"Dammit! Just... press the attack! Don't falter! Bring them down, no matter the cost!" Cody McGiligan ordered, raging like a maniac.

'You're going to get us all killed like that... or worse...' Mark Rempy cringed.

"Djibril... this is not going the way we intended..." One of the worried Logos members warned.

"Just shut it! My Destroys will bring them down, just watch!" Djibril barked.

* * *

"Alright you Zaft punk! It's time we taught you a lesson you won't forget!" The pilot of one of five Windam's yelled as he managed to slice a BABI in two with his beam saber, his group rushing towards the Colossus, which they considered a great threat.

"Fine then, come and get it!" Luna yelled, powering forward with both beam sabers drawn and clashed blades with the opposing unit, the two of them spinning around in a circle as the other four surrounded them.

"AHAHAHAHA! Got you now!" The ringleader gloated.

"Shit!" Luna tried to back off, pulling away and blocking a shot with one of her shields as the five of them got around her at all angles. "Well then take this!" She fired her LC-778SC "Catharsis" Multi-phase Energy Cannon at the leading Windam, which threw away it's shield as it blocked the blast and activated it's second beam saber. 'Dammit, the Colossus isn't equipped for close quarters against multiple targets...' She bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, you're done for pretty girl!" He smirked, the five Windams all closing in with blades drawn as Luna, unable to get away due to her machine's size, found herself with all shields and sabers activated, but will feeling of doubt in her mind.

"Yeah, better luck next time, pal!" An enraged, masculine teenaged voice raged as four shining blades of beam light flashed across the field only to be followed by a monstrous barrage of energy beams, the Colossus hiding behind it's defenses as four of the five Windams were hit in the confusion. "I'm going to get you personally, Logos bastard!" Shinn yelled, impaling the lead Windam directly in the chest's cockpit with his MMI-710 "Excalibur" anti-ship sword and slicing downwards, dealing critical damage to the machine.

"Lunamaria, you alright?" Athrun questioned as the Sword Impulse and Crusader closed in, the beam boomerangs mounted on the back or shoulders of both suits respectively now having had been expended, the Legacy itself sticking in the back ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She breathed heavily

"Miss me?" Heine asked, appearing behind Luna and to her right. "Our machines won't have much issue wrecking their ground infrastructure now, Rey." He informed.

"Good. Now there's two more left. Luna, back to the original plan. Athrun and Shinn, distract him. Heine, make sure Luna doesn't get into a situation like that again."

"Understood." The three other males stated, taking off.

"Come and get me you damned monstrosity!" Shinn raged as the Impulse blazed forward toward the opposing Destroy. 'If I stay above it I should be safe from the explosion when Lunamaria fires...' He thought to himself, attracting the metallic beast's attention while swinging his sword around, chasing one of it's arms. "ARRGHH!" He roared, slicing the left hand directly in half with a half-luck half-skill swing, impacting the palm that was not protected by the machine's beam shield, noticing a couple more Windams coming his way. "You want some too? Fine then? Come get some! Logos DRONES!" A Red SEED exploded in his eyes as he put the Excalibur in the Impulse's left hand and used the right to withdraw it's beam rifle and started firing with enhanced accuracy at the opposing suits, knocking out one after the other as he approached the Destroy's head, the machine itself seeming to have shifted focus to Athrun and the Crusader as they clashed beam naginata against massive arm.

"And now..." He stored the beam rifle back as one final Windam came at him with it's beam saber drawn, the Sword Impulse wrapping it's phase shifted hand around the left side of the Destroy's v-fin and pulled, literally ripping the metal off of the head before he swung around and stabbed the Windam in the upper chest, just across the neckline with it, all in the blink of an eye. "... know just what I'll do to hunt down these bastards!" He growled in anger, ascending as the Colossus fired another shot from it's positron cannon at the lone, landed Destroy, the blast piecing the body and continuing onwards to crash into the mountainside where Nibelung was in the distance.

* * *

"Unit five... destroyed..." The unwelcome news was announced around the Command Center as the Logos members began to chat amongst themselves, while one particular set of feet began to slowly make their way off into the distance.

* * *

"One more..." Shinn held onto his controls tightly.

"The last thing that stands in our way." Athrun added.

"Wait... where's Heine?" Luna questioned as the four gundams found their remaining compadre unseen until he reached out for them personal.

"Guys fall in. We'll bring this one down together, trust me!" He stated, the Destroy itself turning slightly to the right as a blur passed by it's upper backpack and one of the cannons clean off. "I've got him distracted, fall in!" He ordered, the four remaining pilots nodding as the dove in close, the Destroy firing back with it's multitude of weapons in response, only to have them carefully dodge out of the way.

'If I use my guns he's sure to activate his defenses and then we won't be able to finish him this quickly... might as well follow suit then I guess!' Luna figured, gripping both large sabers with the Colossus' hands.

'Now to bring this bloodshed to an end!' Athrun thought, activating all beams on the Crusader's body, from head to toe to Fatum-10 wing.

"Hmm..." Rey scoffed.

"The last... THE LAST ONE! IT'S OVER, DJIBRIL YOU CRIMINAL!" Shinn raged as the suits closed in.

And with that, the Crusader sliced across the Destroy's chest from lower right to upper left, the Colossus followed suit from lower left to upper right, the Legacy gashed a large cut through the middle of the machine's chest, the Assassin appeared out of stealth and perform an arch-like attack, slicing off both arms of the suit as Shinn came crashing down upon the head, the Excalibur making it's way from head to crotch of the massive mobile suit before it fell on it's back, detonating shortly afterwords.

* * *

"Unit One... do I even need to say it?" The announcer nearly fainted.

"Ugh, Djibril? I think we should, Djibril?" Bruno Azrael asked, only to turn around and find his friend completely gone from sight.

* * *

At the same time a certain cat owner was making his way onto one of Heaven's Base's submarines, and sitting down in his passenger seat, all he could do was cuss and moan.

"God... bloody dammit! Five Destroys... five of them... taken out? I don't believe it! It's not possible, but it happened? Dammit! How did something like that happen! Err..." He turned towards the man in charge as Paladin hopped onto his lap. "Take us out, NOW!"

"Sir!"

* * *

"It doesn't matter if he's here or not!" Commander Cody McGiligan stated. "We shall not surrender to the coordinators. Not even if they burn our cities and reduce our bases and military facilities into dust! We shall make sure that they never... ugh..." Several gasps were heard that day in the Command Center as Mark Rempy, the second in command, literally punched his superior out in front of the commanding staff.

"That sort of talk is what's getting us into these sorts of wars." He looked down with disgust upon the unconscious commander. "Raise the white flag. Heaven's Base has been defeated and it's foolish to continue fighting. Send a direct message to the Zaft flagship Minerva stating out intention to surrender..." He issued, making his way out of the room in short order. 'At least there's some of us in the EA who have a rational mind...'

* * *

Minerva Bridge:

"Message from the LeWatt team. Their Headquarters is flying a white flag. Enemy forces have lost the will and power to put up a resistance." Bart informed as the room erupted with applause.

"Finally... although not at a great cost..." Durandal stated bitterly.

"Don't let your guard down until there's a complete ceasefire!"

"See, I told you it would work! They had no idea just what we had at the ready... ahh... victory..." Kendan placed his hands on the back of his head and relaxed while Talia Gladys tilted her head down to look right at the Chairman.

"Shall I..." She received a nod. "Right then. Malik, take us in. All vessels follow suit."

* * *

Half an hour later, inside the Minerva's pilot lounge:

The five of them stood proudly together after their victory. Granted, Shinn and Athrun tried to distance themselves from each other, but nonetheless, it certainly did feel like something to be proud of, although the costs were high and it was a bitter experience nonetheless. However, all five gundam pilots would soon find themselves with a sour grimace, as Yolan Kent and Vino Dupre crashed into the room together.

* * *

In the meantime Zaft was cleaning up the mess, and needless to say, there was a lot of it, ranging from broken Destroy parts to Zamza-zah claws to... Windam heads, and a ton of them at that. Chairman Durandal himself looked with complete contempt at the destruction as he waited on the flagship's bridge with his arms crossed. He had ordered all of the remaining Logos members found in the base to be arrested and placed in high security prisons immediately, but there was a snag in all of this.

* * *

"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Shinn yelled at the top of his lungs, entering his cabin and rushing through the door, his eyes filled with hatred and anger, as well as a thirst, a certain thirst, that could only ever be satisfied by one's personal definition of Justice.

"Shinn... what are..." Stella asked, looking with scared eyes at the pilot. Until a few seconds ago she had been in this room and was waiting for him, even though there was nothing to do.

"What... Stella? Are you?" Shinn questioned, calming down as he looked at the frightened blonde girl. "Why are you here?"

"Because the doctor told me... after the battle, that I should come here and tell you that I'm all better now!" She said, cheering somewhat as he gave her a smile, but still remained quiet. "Shinn, what's wrong? You guys... you guys won, didn't you? So what's the problem?" She questioned as he slammed his left hand into the wall with a loud 'smack'.

"Djibril, the bastard. He managed to get away. Of all the people... he got away. Despite our best efforts... he slipped past them?" Shinn growled.

"Dj... Djibril? The evil man?" She grumped.

"Yes, and by the end of this war... I'll make him pay for what he, and his twisted Blue Cosmos bastards have done... to this world... to me... and to you... mark my words, Stella..." Shinn breathed in heavily.

* * *

"It's a damn shame now, isn't it, father." Heine looked upon the Admiral as the two discussed the ends and means of the battle that had just taken place.

"Yes, you performed spectacularly, Heine. I'm very proud... if only all of Zaft could possess your talents..." Kendan patted his son on the shoulder, when the intercom came to life.

"Admiral Westenfluss to the bridge please. Admiral Westenfluss to the bridge."

"Ah... be back later. They need me, after all." Kendan motioned away with a grump.

* * *

Inside Heaven's Base, fifteen minutes later:

"Chairman, this had better be something good... after all, the battle's finished. It's time to relax... until the next engagement." Kendan commented as he walked down the hall with Chairman Durandal and Acting 'Commander' Mark Rempy, several Zaft guardsman by their side.

"Oh, this man here..." Durandal looked towards the Alliance officer. "Has informed me of something rather peculiar. And should what he told me be true, I think that you all of all people should be a suitable spectator while we uncover the truth." Durandal said as the lot of them reached the end of the hallway they were walking through and reached a door.

"One moment, please." Mark said, his tone one of a man who had been defeated but had accepted his defeat, but nevertheless was a tad bitter. After about ten seconds the door opened up into a dark room to which one of the guards walked in first only to give the all clear, and then Durandal, Kendan and the others followed, while Mark himself made his way around the corner and towards something on the wall. "Here she is..." Mark flipped a switch on, several high powered lights instantly powering up to illuminate the room, which was incredibly large and probably a hanger bay, while Zaft's Admiral gasped, looking upon the object that was in front of him. "The LCAM-01XA..."

"... _**Archangel...!**_" Kendan yelled, looking upon the great white and red vessel that stood resting before him in the hanger bay... it's body showing signs of both great damage and attempted repair...

* * *

Author's Note:  
Two things to say:

1) Not as bad as cannon where it's 'Destiny cleaves Destroy in half LOL' but this battle was rather facerollish. Needless to say, battles like that, in this fic at least, are about to come to an end.

2) Check deviant art profile. ORB-02 Veneficus has been uploaded in both forms. Enjoy.

P.S. Cliffhanger makes you wonder, and makes you mad, right?


	7. Phase 36: Parting Ways

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Anyway, last time we left off:

___"One moment, please." Mark said, his tone one of a man who had been defeated but had accepted his defeat, but nevertheless was a tad bitter. After about ten seconds the door opened up into a dark room to which one of the guards walked in first only to give the all clear, and then Durandal, Kendan and the others followed, while Mark himself made his way around the corner and towards something on the wall. "Here she is..." Mark flipped a switch on, several high powered lights instantly powering up to illuminate the room, which was incredibly large and probably a hanger bay, while Zaft's Admiral gasped, looking upon the object that was in front of him. "The LCAM-01XA..."_

___"… __****__**Archangel**_**___...!_**___" Kendan yelled, looking upon the great white and red vessel that stood resting before him in the hanger bay... it's body showing signs of both great damage and attempted repair..._

* * *

Continuing off from the Heaven's Base Hanger Bay:

"Ha... ha... how... wh... what...?" One of Zaft's top Admirals, Kendan Westenfluss was at a complete and utter loss for words as he stood before the four hundred and fifty meter long ship in front of him. However massive and grandiose the veteran Archangel was to a normal human being standing before it, from the looks of it she had seen better days. Although only one side, the starboard side, was visible to the group of men, it was clear that she was in desperate need of repair. The respective "Valiant Mk.8" 110cm Linear Cannon was not only destroyed, but the entire engine assembly connected to it was missing, as if Captain Ramius had ordered it to be ejected from the ship at some point in time. There were also several beam burn marks along the vessel's hull, and a couple of the Igelstellungs were missing too, while the starboard Lohengrin door had been blown off, only to be replaced by some makeshift piece of dark gray metal to prevent water from entering the ship's cavity. The bridge was worse for wear as one of the yellow sensor arrays, the port one, to be specific, looked to have had suffered a hit from mobile suit's beam rifle and had been partially melted away. Finally, although it was on the other side of the ship, from what could be seen by looking across the vessel's underbelly, her port wing had been destroyed partially halfway from it's origin point under the ship.

"You can save your breath for later... I'm sure you've got more than a few questions to ask about this ship and how it ended up in Heaven's Base, Chairman Durandal." Mark Rempy began, pausing for a second afterwords. "However, I must inform you that my knowledge, as the man who was second in command and not a Blue Cosmos fascist... about this vessel is limited. However, I will do my best to answer your questions."

"Understandable..." Durandal cocked an eyebrow slowly.

"Like hell you will! I knew that Gladys didn't have what it took to sink it, even with the Minerva at her disposal, so of course she got away, but afterwords we caught wind of a fleet from Suez approaching the ORB forces and taking them out. So... what happened afterwords?" Kendan demanded. As a reaction to this, Mark let out a slight, disappointing sigh.

"From what we heard at Heaven's Base, Operation Molon labe, who's objective was to hunt down the ORB Fleet remnants and 'deal with them', was a success. However two or three days afterwords, before even Djibril and his Logos members came to us for 'protection', the Archangel arrived at our doorstep and, by orders from the higher ups, we were told to repair it. Our intentions were to get her ready for combat in time for Operation Ragnarok. In theory if we managed to complete our repairs she would have been sent out today as a countermeasure meant to confront the Minerva in combat and drive Zaft from the battlefield, however..."

"We attacked too soon and you couldn't get her working in time, eh?" Kendan smirked. "Still, she is pretty roughed up. How bad was the damage is when she got here, because from what I can tell, you guys have made some progress." Kendan questioned, pointing towards a large degree of scaffolding platforms with tools just lying down on them, ready to be picked up and used again, as well as cranes hoisting up repair parts.

"What I want to know is... where is the crew... specifically the Lady Attha." Durandal asked in an imposing tone.

"Huh..." Mark sighed. "When the Archangel arrived the sections with the least amount of damage were the engines, besides what damage you see now, bridge, and crew quarters. Her submerging functions are operational though, albeit only at low depths. It looks bad on the outside but I did take a tour inside her when she came round here and the inside was almost untouched... but Chairman, this is what I meant when I said my knowledge was limited. The whereabouts of the crew, and of ORB's Chief Representative is something I know nothing about." He informed.

"What?" Durandal asked, leaning forward a bit. 'The final puzzle piece... or at least half of it and he doesn't know...'

"You have to understand, Chairman Durandal. Suez organized and launched the attack, not Heaven's Base. They kept everything a secret from us besides orders to repair her in case you were successful in your attempt to bring us down and get to our main computers..."

"And we were, thank you..." Kendan smugged, while Mark rolled his eyes.

"If by chance any of the crew, or ORB's Chief Representative are still alive... they will know, not I. However, what I can tell you is that all the parts necessary to repair her are here now and... with what has transpired in the last few hours... she belongs to Zaft now." Mark finished.

"Indeed..." Durandal huffed, as if he cared less about what happened to the Archangel and more about what exactly he had inquired about earlier. Needless to say, Zaft's Chairman was distressed when he heard that Mark Rempy knew nothing. However, he hid that distress. "Well then, I must thank you for your cooperation in these matters, Commander Rempy. It's good to know that the stereotype that I hear some Zaft soldiers calling Earth Alliance personal is not completely accurate, and you're living proof of that; an example of the rationalism that exists within its ranks. So, with that in mind we will put Heaven's Base to good use and completing the repairs to the Archangel in order to make her fit for battle once again. It's only fair, considering what this legendary ship has been through, if we let her see the end of the war that will end all wars..."

"So Chairman, because you called me down here... does that mean...?" Kendan smiled and raised an eyebrow above the edge of his thick glasses.

"Yes, you will be the Archangel's new Captain, Admiral Westenfluss." Durandal stated.

"Chairman!" Kendan saluted Durandal, standing straight up and in a stone like pose, proud of himself.

* * *

In the meantime, inside Shinn's quarters:

"Shinn... calm down..." Stella tried to escort the angered pilot to his bed and sit him down in it. As they both took a seat on the blankets the pilot's breathing returned to normal, and in response, he turned to the girl.

"Stella... so the doctor just sent you hear afterwords? Did he give you anything?" Shinn asked, the blonde blushing a little and then rising once more.

"Oh, yes he did... I almost forgot." She reached over to his desk and grabbed an information tablet and handed it to Shinn. Crimson eyes scanned the device, noticing a place there to input a code.

'Oh, she wasn't supposed to read it then... let's see...' Shinn thought, typing in a series of characters until receiving an approving message as the screen changed, allowing him vision of what he needed to know.

"What's it say, Shinn? I know they put a password on it, but... I want to know!" She jumped slightly and reached towards the pad as he deflected her hand away.

"Let me read it first!" He growled, looking up to her a second later and raising his eyelids. "Sorry, Stella. Didn't mean it..." He said.

"Ah... fine then!" She grumped while he refocused upon the pad again. "I guess I'll just look around here then!" She began to walk around his dark room.

"Yeah, sure... that's fine..." He said lightly until realizing something severe. "HEY! You can't just meddle around with my stuff, Stella!" Shinn barked, putting the pad down and walking over to where the girl was. "What are you doing?" He asked, observing that her right hand was digging through one of his end table drawers.

"Sorry..." She apologized with puppy dog eyes, pulling her hand out of the drawer, and an object along with it. "Hey... I know this!" Light began to shine off of the object in her hand, which was a ring.

'That thing... makes some sense if she knows about it...' Shinn's eyes narrowed. This was the ring that Shinn had found at the Lodonia Extendeds lab. It looked to be made of nearly pure gold and had a large center diamond on top, followed by two light garnets on either side of the diamond, and then two ruby's next to each garnet, and then two very small amethysts next to the ruby's, finishing off the line of jewels. Yes, it had to be expensive, and for all his luck, he had found it, a beautiful, stunning, shinning ring just lying in that damned, filth infested, horror stricken laboratory; a spark of brightest light hidden behind darkest shadow. Lucky him, then again when he found it it was the result of slipping and falling on the ground, which hurt his ass for a while.

"This... this was... Auel's..." Stella came to a realization.

"Auel? You mean...?" Shinn inquired, expressing a confused look.

"The... one who... piloted the Destroy. The original Destroy." Stella explained in a tone reflecting deep melancholy. "This belonged to a women... she was called 'mother' by Auel, and she took care of us at the lab at Lodonia, Shinn." Stella began, causing Shinn to gasp somewhat at her words. "She was our only light... in all the darkness there..."

"Do... do you want it then, Stella? Is that what you're saying? Because, if you want it then..." Shinn attempted to speak, only to be interrupted by Stella as she stood up in glee.

"Are you sure? Oh! Thank you, Shinn! Yes, I want..." She cheered happily, but was stopped in her tracks by Shinn as he grabbed her right arm that was holding the ring with his left hand, causing her to let it go and land in his right hand. "What are you doing?"

'Considering that she was just riffling through my stuff without permission a second ago... I'm going to need a way to 'tame' her, however pathetic that may be.' Shinn thought to himself as he locked gazes with the purple eyed girl once more.

"Shinn? Why did you take the ring of Auel's 'mother' away?" Stella asked, a tear forming in her eyes as she tilted her head to the right.

"Stella, it's alright. You'll be able to have 'mother's' ring back, but you need to earn it, alright?" Shinn questioned.

"Earn it?"

"Yes. Please... it's for your own good, Stella."

"What do I need to do to earn the ring? I want it now!" She pouted.

"Stella, you need to be nice, don't bug anyone, and listen to me. You can't be searching through every little thing you see and checking into everyone's private drawers like what you just did, alright? If you behave and don't get into trouble for the rest of the war... or for the rest of the time being, then you can have the ring, and you can keep it. Is that okay?" Shinn asked, raising the ring up to her face as a small glimmer of light bounced off of it's diamond into Stella's retina. 'Her actions are a reflection of me... or at least that's what the Chairman said. If that's the case then she'd better be good... I already am on the edge half the time with my superiors!' Shinn thought.

"Promise, Shinn? If I'm good, you will let me have the ring? I never had to do anything like this with Kira and Cagalli! So why are you doing this!" She raged, shaking his arms.

"Well, Stella..." Shinn's voice ceased to be kind as it took on a more assertive tone. "I'm not Kira or Cagalli, I'm Shinn Asuka. And you... you're on a Zaft ship for the time being, so things are a little different here... you can't be running around like mad, alright!" She shred yet another tear.

"Uh... uh... alright then. But, answer my question now!"

"Did I promise you... that I would protect you?"

"Yes you did..." She began to let on, lowering her head.

"And have I protected you?"

"For the time being, I guess..."

"Then there you go, Stella." Shinn smiled, letting go of her arm and placing the ring in his pocket.

"But... you said you've only protected me for the time being..."

"And you'll get it if you act good, which you have been, for the time being." Shinn answered with a crude smile.

"Oh... such a goofball, Shinn!" Stella giggled at him. "I'll act 'good' then, if you want me too, Shinn!" Stella laughed, lunging at Shinn.

"Whoa... shit!" He felt himself pushed down onto the bed as the blonde, in a fit of joy, began to hug him. "Stella... ah..." He struggled, until at last, she got up on top of him.

"Ugh... did I hurt you?" She frowned with sorrow. "I'm sorry... hopefully... I wasn't bad... was I?" She asked as he looked right into her eyes.

"Well... you..." He looked into those sad, purple, innocent eyes with an ever intensifying gaze. "No, you didn't... just get off of me, okay? Besides, you can't be running around the ship in a sick bay gown... ___that is bad!_" Shinn warned.

"It is? Okay then!" She quickly got off of him. "That's enough then. Lets go get... something else then! Will this be like the time Cagalli got me a new uniform when I was on the Archangel?"

"Uhh... yeah, I guess. Think of it that way, Stella." Shinn stated as the two walked out of the room together. 'Alright, so the doctor put a lock on that message because it had orders from the Captain on it about Stella... she won't be staying in my room... thank Haumae... if something like that were arranged then Meyrin and Lunamaria would never let me live it down, even if there's two beds... damn those two. Instead she'll be in the cabin next to me and I'll have to lock the door at night and she'll be under surveillance, at least for now.' Shinn thought as the pair made their way down the hall, receiving several odd looks from other crew members on the Minerva.

* * *

Zaft drop fleet as they make their return trip to the PLANTs after Operation Ragnarok:

Commander Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman were walking through the halls of one of Zaft's vessels. As it stood the platinum haired white shirt seemed to be reaching his tipping point in terms of anger while his tanned friend remained a few steps behind him, maintaining his calm demeanor as per usual.

"Man, we sure did take a beating done there on Earth. I mean, eighty percent of our suits were wiped out in an instant. Eighty percent... aww man." Dearka shook his head.

"But we still managed to pull through victoriously, didn't we? Despite all those loses, we won." Yzak barked back, his fists clenched and his back bent slightly forward in an aggressive pose.

"Yzak..." Dearka angled his head to the side so as to get a better look at his commander.

"I know... Dearka. We lost a great many good men back there, all to one single weapon. It's a shame, and if I could turn back time I would probably amend that mistake, along with many others... however I can't, and it doesn't change the fact that war, one way or another, has costs." Yzak ranted as the two of them began to make their way through a section of the hall which was filled with chatting, casual green shirts.

"We can talk about defeating Logos all we want, but with what happened earlier, and how one of their main leaders escaped, how does the Chairman intend to go about it?"

"A boycott maybe? Start with the companies on that list of his." One rookie pilot suggested, causing his fellow cohorts to giggle.

"Maybe a massive game of 'chase the Blue Cosmos leader all around the Earth sphere indefinitely'?" Another mentioned, causing even more laughter and pushing Yzak over the edge, as evidenced when he, within the time frame of a blink of an eye, anchored his firsts into the lapels of one of the green shirts and shoved him right against the wall.

"Hey, funny man, what the hell gives? You think a matter like this is anything to be laughing about?" Yzak questioned.

"Uh... Commander... uh..." The frightened green shirt groaned.

"Believe me, there is nothing funny about it at all! Fighting the Earth Alliance and maintaining a status of ignorance about those who pull it's strings in the background is _****__**nothing **_compared to what's happening right now, especially with the man dubbed Lord Djibril on the lose, got it?" Yzak informed, letting the poor rookie go and backing off, the other green shirts engaging in silent gossip around him. "SHUT UP!" Yzak ordered, stomping his black booted foot onto the ground.

"Yzak..." Dearka warned.

"I am sick and tired of people who don't know how to think! How the hell did you get into the position you have now just being a bloody record player! Now get your head straight and smarten up." The Commander continued to rant, until one green shirt, who seemed to a little more cocky, arrogant, young and riskful than the others just by his expression, spoke up.

"Big words, coming from the officer who has stated that he's been skeptical of the Supreme Council and Chairman's actions this entire war. What, did you have a change of heart, Commander?" The green shirt smirked as Yzak laid his cold, kill-ready blue eyes on him and transfixed his stare.

"Did I ever say anything about being skeptical of the Chairman? Yes, yes I did. After the bullshit that took place last war damn rights I am. I may be a bit iffy on how I view the Chairman's goals and his desire to 'end war forever', but if you place Durandal and that bastard Djibril side-by-side my allegiance becomes crystal clear, very quickly. Against a man who has ordered two nuclear strikes against the PLANTs and is suspected of playing a part in the Junius Seven drop... pah, like I'd side with such a character." Yzak spouted, causing the teenaged rookie to cease his lips. "Good, let's go, Dearka." The white shirt smugged as he continued along the path with his friend.

"You know, whenever you tell me about the limited talks with your Mom, you always tell me about how she goes on about how she doesn't trust Durandal and such... what about you?" Dearka scratched the back of my hand.

"I don't worship any politician, nor their ideals, and I don't completely trust Durandal either. However my mother doesn't see some things, such as the footage we received of the first Destroy wadding through city after city, or Operation Ragnarok, as I do." Yzak continued, still fuming as always.

"Alright then..." Dearka sighed. "You know, your head is going to explode one of these days, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep it up, Dearka." Yzak gradually lowered his voice before turning around and facing Dearka. "It's because of all the Alliance's activity these past few weeks or so. Ever since that second nuclear strike they've backed down on their activity in space besides some few key routes. I mean, how many times have we been ordered to sortie and take out a few Windams or so? None. By the way they're acting it's as if there isn't even a war in space anymore, and it's driving me insane because there is a war going on!" He groaned. "Err... I just wish we could have been down there with those guys earlier in Iceland. Man, what I would give to have been Athrun for even this one day... and get a chance to show those fishmongers what for..." He growled, placing his hands together and cracking the knuckles on both of his hands one after the other.

"I can emphasize with you... somewhat..." Dearka yawned.

* * *

Back down below at Heaven's Base. Minerva's mess hall:

Shinn and Stella were currently sitting together at one of the tables alone having dinner together, although there wasn't much going on. Stella had been switched out of the sick bay gown she was wearing before and now adorned a green Zaft uniform, although it didn't have any rank on it and she wasn't 'really' a crew member of the Minerva, it was necessary to have her wear something proper if she was to be living in a military vessel at this point in time.

"Geez... Shinn, you sure are hungry." Stella giggled as she observed the pilot who she was a ward to as he devoured what food was on his platter.

"Well, there was a big battle today, Stella. What the hell did you expect, to be honest?" Shinn questioned as he gulped down a piece of a buttery baked potato.

"Meh, I guess you're right..." She seemed to disconnect somewhat and look around the entire room. There were some people here but not a whole lot. "Then again as machines need power... people need food... hehe..." She giggled, picking up a bottle of water and taking a light sip before looking at her light green and white uniform and adjusting the collar. "Grr..."

"What's wrong, Stella?" Shinn turned to her and noticed her struggling with the collar on her suit. It seemed to be that either she had messed up buttoning it up or it was flat out a little too tight. "Here... just do what I usually do. Nobody really notices unless it's some sort of important event." He informed, undoing the buttons and letting the two half's of the collar separate freely. "Better?"

"Uh... hmm..." Stella paused for a second. "Whatever you say then." She smiled, the two of them giving each other joyful looks as two specific engineers sat down on the other side of the table next to them.

"Hey Shinn, mind if we join you guys?" Vino giggled, waving the red section of his fluffy hair a little bit as he joined the two, with Yolan Kent by his side.

"Uh, no problem, I guess." Shinn spoke, coughing a bit and turning his attention towards the pair of mechanics.

"Oh, here's a problem... right from the get-go." Yolan smirked, looking at Stella.

"Problem? What problem? Me?" She raised her right first finger and pointed it at her face.

"Yeah... Shinn's got to you..." Yolan shook his head. "Telling you not to zip up your suit all the way, as usual." He turned his attention towards the red eyed pilot and smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, Yolan. It's fine. When the time comes that Stella... or I for that matter need to wear their uniform 'properly', we'll make sure it done 'properly'."

"Meh..." Stella groaned. "I'm alright with this suit, but... I don't think I like it as much as the other ones I've worn, the Earth Alliance and ORB suits..." She spoke, her tone completely innocent, as per usual. Despite this her words did land on the ears of several other Zaft soldiers in the mess hall, some of them casting angry looks and scornful grins at the girl, to which Shinn noticed.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep moaning and groaning." He muttered under his breath, taking a sip of his beverage before tilting towards Vino, who was already well into his evening meal. "So how have you guys been doing? Hope I didn't cause you that much trouble by using all three Silhouette packs in that battle, considering the extra firepower the Minerva's been packing as of late."

"Oh, you mean the FAITH suits?" Vino swallowed before facing his comrade. "They're... interesting to say the least. So incredibly advanced and marvelous to look at once you go 'under the hood', if you know what I mean." Vino smiled.

"Under the hood? I'm sorry, I never took a great interest in cars when I was little. What are you..." Shinn raised an eyebrow as Stella gave him a friendly smack on the side.

"Whoa... watch out, Shinn." Yolan warned, looking at Stella.

"Shinn... you're silly if you don't know what he's talking about. What he means to say is that the other machines are a work of art, even when you pull off the armor plates and go deep down into the innards, right?" Stella laughed.

"Oh yeah, you got it right, girl. Shinn, she knows what she's talking about." Vino smirked.

"Well she was the Gaia's previous pilot. Hey, how did you guys actually manage to make those modifications to the Gaia anyway? Even after we got to Gibraltar that machine's still sat in the hanger bay in the back. Chief told us that he analyzed it and was impressed, and requested that we look at the adjustments that had been made to it so we could 'learn something out of the box'... his words, not ours." Yolan mentioned as Stella finished chewing some meat and swallowed before putting her fork down and facing the two, taking a deep breath, and starting.

"Well, it's simple, really. Zaft technology, while it isn't all that cooperative with ORB or Alliance hardware, making the parts work is possible, it's just a matter of knowing what to do. See, first you have to go into the computer and mess around with the Operating System and completely disable the performance and thruster limiters... those things are useless anyway unless the machine's being piloted by a complete idiot who doesn't have a clue what to do and needs them for the sake of not killing themselves by accident..." She spoke in one big burst, stopping for the sake of breathing while the two engineers leaned in closer and Shinn turned to face the girl.

"Uh huh..."

"Go on..." The two said, clearly mesmerized.

"Then you have to practically deconstruct the main engines in the backpack and calves of the suit... easier said than done but I'll walk you through it step by step. First you remove all the armor and outer protection and remove part after part until you get down to the power suppliers. While you're at it you modify the thrusters to whatever kind of output you're going for but be sure to maintain the previous thrust equilibrium in terms of the Active Mass Balance Auto Control... or AMBAC system or else you'll never get the thing to stand up perfectly straight in the air and it'll fly all over the place. While you're at it you should also clean up inside there because those inner workings get really dirty from being in space even with the armor on and it's..." She paused, requiring another breath of air as Shinn gently placed his left arm on her back and right arm on her front.

"Tell us more..."

"Yeah..." The two continued.

"Uh, no..." Shinn grunted. "That's enough, for now at least. Besides, our food is getting cold... if you two want to talk with Stella later about how she managed to improve the Gaia then by all means you can do so... but not right now." Shinn asserted as the two backed down.

"Awe..." Vino moaned.

"Alright..." Yolan rested, the two going back to what they were eating before.

"That is of course... assuming you two aren't busy with the maintenance of those other machines down there." Stella hinted.

"Nah, it'll be fine. We're almost done. It was fun having enough suits on the Minerva to keep us busy for a time but that will all be over soon." Yolan stated.

"All be over soon? What do you mean?" Shinn pondered, looking at his friend.

"Didn't you hear? Athrun, Rey, Lunamaria and Heine are all being transferred off of the ship." Vino stated, a tone of excitement in his voice.

"What? Since when? And to what ship?" Shinn coughed a little at that surprise.

"Oh, Shinn, you sure haven't been keeping an open ear out, have you?"

"Well, they're open now, so by all means, rid me of my ignorance." He put his head forward a tad.

"Alright, alright." Yolan placed his hands forward in a defensive position. "After we won we found out that deep inside Heaven's Base... inside one of the large hanger bays... the Alliance had gotten hold of and was repairing... the Archangel." He informed, Shinn and Stella's jaws hitting the table as a result. "Can you believe it? She didn't sink after all... then again we didn't find that much wreckage anyways..." He continued, Shinn still at a loss for words.

"If... the Archangel... then Cagalli and Miss Murrue... where are they then?" Stella asked, shaking with some degree and uncertainty as she did.

"Nobody at Heaven's Base could tell us, and it wasn't in their databases either... that's the mystery." Yolan continued.

"So wait, let me get this straight. We just so happened to attack this base and defeat the forces here, and then we just so happened to find out that inside they were repairing the Archangel, the ship we went up against in combat against and ___defeated _and now... our 'top FAITH pilots' are being transported, in the blink of an eye, to that ship? Seriously?" Shinn asked.

"Yes..." Vino answered. "Weird, isn't it. And the Minerva's going to be headed back to Gibraltar soon while our forces hear continue the cleanup and repair of that ship before departing too. So hopefully you'll be able to say some final words to Lunamaria and the others before you go."

"Ridiculous..." Shinn grunted, motioning towards the edge of the seat. "Come on, Stella. I want to say a few words to the others before we part ways... again." Shinn stated as the blonde rise up and the two of them took their platters away as they left.

"Alright then, Shinn." Stella replied humbly.

* * *

Two minutes later, while both of them are making their way down the hallway:

"So... these other guys, they're the pilots of the newer machines in the hanger bay, right?" Stella questioned.

"Yeah. You haven't seen much of them. I don't know if that's for the better or for the worse... well for you at least." Shinn said as the two of them approached Rey's quarters. 'Well, at least I won't be on the same ship as Athrun anymore.' He rolled his eyes, reaching for the buzzer and depressing it's key.

"Who is it?" The voice of a certain blonde male asked. From the sound of it, he was very busy with something right now.

"It's Shinn, can I come in? I mean, we barely even got a chance to chat now, didn't we?"

"Uh... err..." Rey grumbled in a somewhat displeased tone. "Fine then, come in. I'm getting ready to leave though." The door opened, allowing Shinn and Stella to pass through. Right now the room was rather clean to say the least. Everything that was being transferred was placed into well organized piles and all of the blonde's clothes were well folded. "I see you have her with you." He stated, sitting on the corner of his bed and looking towards Stella, the light reflecting off of his silver and gold FAITH badge at a perfect angle, right into their eyes.

"Yeah, I guess it's better if I keep her around me then... make sure she doesn't get in that much trouble." Shinn chuckled. "Anyway, what about you... we talked about Operation Angel Capture back at Carpentaria but... coming back to the Minerva only to have to get your stuff ready again... that's a bit brutal if you ask me."

"Nothing's too 'brutal', not for a real soldier. If the Chairman wants me aboard our newly discovered ship then I will gladly comply with his demands and do what is necessary to carry them out, Shinn. What about you, would you leave the Minerva if you were called to change vessels?" Rey questioned as Stella sat down in the computer desk chair and faced Rey with somewhat inquisitive eyes.

"Well, I would wonder why? I mean, I've kinda learned to know everyone around here... it would be hard for me to just up and leave the rest of the crew, especially the Captain." The red eyed pilot crossed his arms.

"Hmm..." Rey gently pushed a pile of clothes into a trunk, flipped the lid over and then stood up, facing Shinn. "And that's definitely a weakness. At least if you want to carry out your dreams, or better yet, protect humanity's dream from harm." Rey responded.

"Wait, what do you mean? Rey..." Shinn paused a little as Stella spoke up.

"Do you mean... it's a weakness if someone was to be hesitant in where they were going and what they were doing. If they had a goal in mind but didn't want to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve that goal?" She said.

"Hmm..." Rey raised an eyebrow at the Extended girl, somewhat impressed.

"Like let's say that you wanted to be... the best artist of your time, and while you had some base skills by default, you still needed to go to school to refine them. However, what if the greatest art school is in some other area of the world with a different culture and language, and you chose not to go there because although you wanted to be a great artist, you didn't want to adapt? Is that the sort of weakness you're talking about?" Stella tilted her head to the left as Rey smiled, albeit only just.

"An intelligent observation, young lady." Rey stated.

"Her name's Stella..." Shinn crossed his arms.

"I see... well regardless, that is what I meant. Right now my goals, and hopefully yours too, are perfectly aligned with those of the Chairman and the Supreme Council. With that in mind, and the fact that ___we are soldiers__, _there is no reason to complain. Luckily, the Impulse is still a mobile suit that can only be launched from the Minerva right now, so you're unlikely to face such a problem, Shinn."

"I guess you're still right on that, Rey. I'm still the Impulse's pilot. Bound to the Minerva until further notice." He sighed.

"I think I know how you feel." Rey walked over to his draw and opened it up, reaching inside to grasp at the objects stored within it's depths in order to place them into a container. "However, if all goes well, and we all fight for our aligned interests, then this war is likely to end soon. After all, Djibril knows he can't hide forever, can he?" Rey questioned, facing Shinn.

"Not forever. Although I must ask... how much dirt will be kicked up in the process of finding him, and who will form sour opinions of Zaft because of search? How far is the Chairman willing to go in order to bring an absolute end to Logos? And even then, how can he be so sure that destroying them would be the end of all wars?"

"The Chairman's a wise man, Shinn, you know this and I'm sure he is capable of differentiating between when to cease the chaise and when to continue the hunt. However this is Logos we're talking about... all the more reason to continue our quest and end the bloodshed once and for all so that we can relax and have a good time with our loved one's after. That my friend, has been humanity's dream ever since the dawn of it's creation; the goal that it has been collectively reaching for... although people have thought of different methods to acquire it..." Rey stated, reaching back into his draw as a memory flashed in the eyes of a blonde, a memory of another man, a masked man, who wished to end it all.

'Then the question is: Which solution is the best solution? By what measure is that solution the best solution? And when should that solution be considered invalid with the time... because I can think of a certain country which thought it had it all in the bag... only to burn in the ashes of war like everyone else...' Shinn's eyes narrowed in an angered fashion, the Impulse's pilot thinking for a split second about his family, childhood, and ___the nation which he spent it in__._ "Alright, Stella. I think we should go now and say goodbye to the others... or rather, I should... don't know about you though." He motioned towards the door as the Extended got off of the computer chair and made her way towards him.

"Goodbye." She stated blissfully, to which Rey simply gave a very quiet huff, only to speak when sound waves generated by the door opening reached his ears.

"Oh, Heine's already managed to get his stuff ready, and so has Athrun. I'm not sure about Lunamaria though."

"Good to know." Shinn answered, the door sealing shut afterwords.

"So is he your friend, Shinn?" Stella asked, the two of them already making their way down the halls.

"Rey? Yeah."

"He seems kinda... I dunno... a bit cold, don't you think?"

"That's Rey for you. He's always been the more logical and detached one. He's always seemed more intent of following orders to the letter and making sure the rest of us are in line. Then again sometimes I feel as if he doesn't know the limits to anything, or that some things do not have a price tag not worth passing on."

"Like when he told you about what would happen if you were to told to change ships, like what's happening to him? Is that it?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can understand if the Chairman wanted to transfer those four considering what we've found in the base. They didn't even have a chance to settle back into the ship and were away for a couple of weeks before... but if I were told to just leave the Minerva and go be reassigned to another vessel out there, I'd be a bit skeptical. Heck, I'd be mad if it happened multiple times in a short period of time. Rey? Doesn't care. Doesn't even seem to care. To him, it's never been about what he had to go through... what he specifically wants... if you know what I mean." Shinn finished.

"That's a bit strange if you ask me, Shinn..." Stella asked as Shinn pressed the buzzer on another door and waited for a response.

"Who is it? Don't you know we're busy?" Luna's voice blasted through the speaker.

"It's Shinn. Don't worry, I'm just here to say hello... or rather, goodbye." The red eyed teen replied.

"Oh, fine then." Luna huffed, the door opening to reveal an absolute disaster area inside the Hawke sister's rooms. "Watch your step." She warned as Shinn walked through, followed by Stella. 'What... she's here?' The magenta haired girl narrowed her eyes as she looked at Stella.

"Man, you guys sure have... whoa..." Shinn moved forward a little bit, nearly fell on something on the floor, only to be caught and pulled up by Stella. "... a lot of stuff..."

"Careful..." Stella whispered.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, Shinn." Lunamaria raised her right first finger upwards and shook it disapprovingly at Shinn.

"Hehe, we sure do." Another voice said from over in the distance as two red curls peaked over the blankets of one of the beds, Meyrin's complete head following soon after. "Hey Shinn." She smiled.

"Meyrin... wait, are you... don't tell me you're leaving too?"

"Yeah, we both are. Chairman Durnandal asked me if I'd be okay with be on a separate ship than Meyrin for the rest of the war and... hell no, sorry, not going to happen. Uh nuh!" Luna warned.

"And now we've got to clean up all the stuff we've acquired over this time... all the..." Meyrin stated.

"Girly girl stuff..." He smirked. "Hey, could be better than the time in Diocula when..." Shinn started, only to be stopped by an angered Lunamaria as she grabbed his collar and pulled him in close.

"Don't. Mention. That. Again." She looked deep into his eyes with her most serious expression, or at least the most serious one that she could muster.

"HEY! Let me go!" He pulled her hand off and moved away. "Luna, you can't do something like that." Shinn protested.

"See this..." She pointed towards the badge on her lapel. "Yeah, I'm pushing it... but I'd rather Mr. I get to perform dangerous assignments not bring up that accident." The two locked gazes in an angry, competitive, yet somewhat friendly way, with Shinn giving off a light growl, of course.

"Hey, I could use some help over here!" Meyrin requested from the far side of the room.

"Help? I can help." Stella giggled and clapped her hands together once before looking at Shinn for approval.

"Uh... sure..." He blushed somewhat.

"You? I wouldn't do that if I were..." Luna warned as Stella quickly tip-toed her way through the mess of clothes and hygiene bottles on the floor before literally leaping over one of the beds and landing next to Meyrin.

"Whoa!" The younger Hawke sister nearly jumped in surprise as the Extended kneeled next to her. "Well, if you're here." The two began to go to work, leaving Shinn and Lunamaria alone as the older girl leaned in closer to Shinn and lowered her voice.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? What the hell does the Chairman think he's doing letting you get away with this?" She asked.

"With... what?" Shinn angled his head closer to Luna.

"With HER! What was going through your head when you thought of letting a past enemy pilot who was very deadly at times... just roam about one of the most powerful ship's in Zaft, while wearing our uniform?" Luna complained.

"Hey! Luna!" Shinn growled, attracting the attention of the two girls in the corner, if only for a few seconds before lowering his voice. "She's not 'roaming about', not completely freely. She follows me around and she listens to me..." Luna crossed her arms at this.

"Like a pet..."

"Nothing like that at all..." He sighed. "Listen, Chairman Durandal told me she's a special case and needs to be treated as such. Besides, you won't be on this ship anymore anyway!" Shinn stated as Luna stood still in her pissed off pose. "She's been through enough... give her a break."

"Funny words, coming from you of all people." She quipped. "Just remember that she's done a lot too... alright? You know what I mean by that, because I know you're not a complete idiot." Luna whispered.

"Hey! Yeah, I know she... well was an enemy pilot and a powerful one at that but... let's just say her claws have been clipped, for now at least."

"For now... whatever..." Luna finished, clearly upset.

"Whatever indeed..." Shinn whispered bitterly as the two watched Stella 'help' Meyrin, although it was clear that Luna would rather be there herself, neither her, nor Shinn, would dare try to make their way through the current mess on the floor.

"Alright... that's enough, thank you." Meyrin laughed a little as she zipped up a travel bag full of some stuff.

"Okay then. Are you sure?" Stella asked as Meyrin shook her head up and down in response.

"Okay then, Stella. I think... I think we ought to go now." Shinn stated from across the room.

"You bet your ass you 'ought to go now...'" Luna warned as the Extended made her way back using the same route as before.

"Well then... I guess I'll see you two later, whenever we meet again then..." Shinn said, opening the door and leaving with Stella, Lunamaria stating nothing at all and Meyrin waving her hand from across the room.

"Can you believe that guy? Just has everything handed to him sometimes by the Chairman!" Lunamaria complained before bending over and taking a whack at the mess on the floor.

* * *

Hours after the success of Operation Ragnarok, Ono'goro airport, ORB Union:

"Well, as I said, even if they lose Heaven's Base, the Alliance still has the Moon. It's unlikely that Zaft will be able to break a stronghold as powerful as Daedalus." Yuna Roma Seiran stated, looking out of an elevated glass window in the airport, his father by his side.

"Ugh... I just hope that Zaft doesn't catch onto this before ___his_'surprises' that he's been talking about are ready to be deployed. We've already suffered enough as is..." The old Yanata Ema grumbled.

"I wouldn't worry, father. Zaft probably thinks that Djibril is making his way towards territory controlled by the Atlantic or Eurasian Federations." Yuna replied, while noticing something coming in the corner of his eyes. "Ah, that must be it, over there!" He pointed towards an object descending onto the runway from above, a green shuttle, to be precise.

"Hmm... it appears as if they didn't get into any trouble along the way. Come on, let's go and say hello." Yanata commanded, turning around and making his way towards the escalator as the plane landed.

After a few minutes it had come to a complete stop, and before too long it's doors opened. Several Alliance soldiers exited the plane while the Seirans, father and son, stood waiting for it's main passenger, with several guardsman by their side.

"Meow..." Echoed from the inside of the fuselage as Lord Djibril exited the aircraft with his fluffy black cat Paladin in hand, smirking as the ORB sunlight rained down upon his yellow, purple trimmed outfit.

"Ah, hello there, Djibril. It's good to see you in person." Yuna smiled, walking forward to greet the leader of Logos.

"Indeed, Yuna Roma..." Djibril looked around. "Ah, the ORB Union. A nation of vast beauty, and of great strength..." He fixed back upon the Seirans. "Come, we have much to discuss." He snickered, shaking Yuna's hand before walking off.

However at the same time, one of the ORB soldiers; a middle aged Caucasian gentleman with a large pair of intricate glasses fitted with many decorative circles around their frame, felt himself undergo an itch on the side of his head. As he addressed said itch, his fingers bumped the left arm of his glasses, and one of the many circles on it seemed to 'flash' multiple time, giving off a faint and hard to see light, almost like an advanced camera...

* * *

Three days later, Heaven's Base:

The Minerva, as well as most of the Zaft forces had left the base, on course towards Gibraltar or other locations in the world that Zaft controlled. Right now the cleanup of Heaven's Base was almost complete and the repairs to the Archangel were going along smoothly. During his last few hours in the base, Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal stood in a control room above and outside the gargantuan hanger bay which held the recovering Archangel, with Rey Za Burrel, Heine Westenfluss, and Admiral Kendan Westenfluss by his side.

"I must admit, the repairs are going along a lot quicker than I had anticipated. Given the damage the vessel had took earlier, I thought it would be the docks for much longer. Now, she'll be seaworthy by tomorrow... or the day after, max." Gilbert Durandal explained as the sound of tools and sparks of torches went off beneath him.

"Well what do you expect? This isn't the AD period, Chairman. Many innovations have been made in the art of shipwright since then." Kendan replied.

"It's hard to tell at first but from what I see the Alliance did not intend to sink her... they wanted to capture the ship above all else." Rey observed.

"I think you're right, Za Burrel. Although, there's one thing that has me puzzled." Kendan narrowed his lensed eyes.

"What would that be, father?" Heine questioned as Kendan stepped aside and made his way towards a control panel, where a data tablet lay resting by it's lonesome.

"This..." Kendan picked up the tablet and began to press his fingers onto it's touch pad for a few seconds, before showing the image to Durandal. "Design modifications that the Alliance were planning on performing after Operation Ragnarok, should they have successfully defended this base." He pointed towards an image of the Archangel's blueprints, specifically the rear missile launchers. However, from the picture, they had been changed somewhat, both in terms of length and width. Durandal eyed the image however remained quiet, staring at the Admiral and giving a slight 'hmm'. "These changes would allow the ship to carry and fire larger, more powerful warheads." Kendan explained in a grim tone of voice.

"Like Mk.5 Nuclear Missiles?" Rey inquired.

"Exactly. I'm just wondering what the Alliance might have had planned for the ship if it was to undergo such a transformation." Kendan answered.

"Perhaps, another nuclear strike upon the PLANT homeland?" Heine suggested.

"Perhaps... they could have placed the Archangel in their main forces, and then launched several nukes while our forces were closing in on her. She would be a prime target for attack... bait, even. Although I doubt they would consider outright sacrificing her." Durandal explained, crossing his arms after. "Although, it would be of little consequence, now that they don't have access to the ship anymore."

"Indeed. Maybe Athrun might find something in his search of the ship. From what I hear he's been checking it out high and low, analyzing it's databanks and cabins for any sign of the ship's old crew." Heine said.

"Ah, he's fooling himself. Even though the Alliance is a ragtag group of incompetents they wouldn't be stupid enough to leave anything on the Archangel's computer drive intact and I'm sure they would have taken the effort to search all her caverns and crevasses for anything relating to Murrue Ramius and her vigilante do-gooders." Kendan barked.

"You're probably right, Admiral. Although, maybe that girl can give us some hints as to what happened to the ship's old occupants." Rey said as Durandal turned to look at him. "Chairman, if I may ask, why exactly did you allow that girl to be placed on the Minerva. What's the point of all that?" He inquired, the Admiral crossing his arms and Heine inching in closer as well, both Westenfluss' also wishing for an answer to the great question of 'Stella Loussier'.

"I won't say much now, Rey, for the sake of sparking tensions. However, I will say this: When I talked to Shinn himself about that girl I saw that _from ____the look in his eyes, he will follow her anywhere.__"_ Durandal gave of a slight, discrete smirk, followed by an incredibly light huff.

"Whatever..." Kendan rolled his eyes. "At least, if she causes any problems, Gladys will be the one to deal with her, not that I care."

"I doubt that if Shinn thinks of her as I think he does, she will be of much negative consequence. Besides, we have bigger fish on our plate right now..." The Chairman placed his right hand on his chin. "Djibril... where is he? I'm guessing either Victoria or Panama..."

"Or he could be in Washington or Berlin. While capital cities themselves aren't hulking military bases these days, it's unlikely that the governments of either of those nations will allow us to just 'take him'. That, and he could try to hide behind the civilian populations of each city." Kendan suggested.

"There's not a fly's chance in hell that something like that is above him, but until we actually know where he is, all we can do is wait, and pray that he doesn't manage to strike us while we're looking around with our eyes peeled." Durandal sighed as Rey closed in and almost removed the gap between his lips and the Chairman's left ear.

"Chairman, what about the Logos members still in the PLANTs? We know of at least one of them..."

"Oh, you must mean our good friends at Integrated, right? For the time being I'd rather just avoid disrupting the supply chain of military equipment. In the Council Meeting that took place before I departed for Earth we discussed the chances of the government taking the weight of Integrated upon it's shoulders and the idea was struck down, although only by one vote. Besides, the man thinks he's safe and hasn't been doing anything rash so I think we'll let him off the hook at least until this conflict comes to a close. That is, assuming he doesn't pull anything." Durandal explained, the sound of a fresh pair of footsteps coming from behind the four men as a black suit marched up to the Chairman with an envelope in hand. "Hello?"

"Chairman, it's from Rulski." The black suit stated, handing Durandal the sealed envelop and saluting his Commander and Chief before departing.

"Rulski? What could this be about?" Kendan raised an eyebrow.

"I think we're about to find out..." Durandal stated bitterly as he tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents, flipping through the primary letter and reading it before checking over several pictures. "Rey, remember when you asked me about Shinn's status... why I haven't promoted him to FAITH yet, given his record during this war, specifically referring the Operations Angel Capture and Ragnarok?"

"Yes sir. I remember it very well, sir." Rey responded.

"And what reason did I give you as to why he is still ranked as an ordinary elite?"

"It was an unanswered question of loyalty, considering what Athrun has already told you about him."

"Correct." Durandal took one of the pictures and showed it to Rey. "And this is why."

"Chairman?" Both Westenfluss' asked in unison while Rey kept his cold expression, the Supreme Council Chairman showing the two of them the photo afterwords.

"Of all the places... ORB. Should have thought of it before..." Durandal said, the image displaying Yuna Roma Seiran, Yanata Ema Seiran, and Lord Djibril meeting at one of ORB's airstrips, the evidence clear as could be...

* * *

Author's Note: Shorter chapter (just over 9k words) but I've been busy. Luckily I'll have a lot more time in the summer, hopefully, so I'll crank out more chapters in the future.

Yes, the haven't revealed the mysteries of the Archangel yet... be patient. All in good time.


	8. Phase 37: The Meaning of War

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

Author's Note: I'll admit the last chapter was boring but there were some things to pick out, as at least one person who I know did. This chapter is like the previous one but not as boredom-inducing. It is a little weird but if you check the title, you'll understand. Also be sure not to just focus on one specific part of this chapter, alright?

* * *

Zaft Military Base of Gibraltar, the day after Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal received evidence of Lord Djibril's whereabouts:

Several high ranking Zaft military personal, consisting of black and purple suited officers, as well as the light colored Captain Talia Gladys were gathering in a group inside a large, somewhat dim room with a massive glass window in it's back. In the rear of this chamber was an oversized desk, where the black haired Durandal himself sat, with Gibraltar's Commanding Officer off to his left. Two computer monitor sat perpendicular to Durandal on opposite sides of the desk, with one of them displaying the face of Admiral Kendan Westenfluss and the other revealing several more Zaft soldiers, from Carpentaria no less.

"No matter what, we insist that they hand him over to us. Given his role in the Heaven's Base battle, as well as the overwhelming evidence we have already obtained, his guilt is beyond question. For them to give this man sanctuary is absolutely unacceptable." Durandal addressed towards the large group of officers, who then began to mumble words of agreement amongst themselves.

"Um... huh..." Gibraltar's Commander cleared his throat, forcing the gossip to cease. "A fleet is about to be dispatched from the base of Carpentaria in response to our request." He turned his head over to the screen with the Australian base personal, where his southern counterpart nodded. "However we are also taking emergency precautions just in case. The Minerva is to head out immediately and join the fleet."

"Uh? Our ship, sir? We're to deploy as soon as possible?" Talia asked with a degree of uncomfortable distress.

"We won't be able to negotiate with them, not unless we make it clear that we mean business. You should get there in plenty of time."

"I am pleased to report that due to... extra efforts put in by the repair crews at Heaven's Base, the Archangel is practically prepared for take off as it stands." Admiral Westenfluss stated from across his line.

"Thank you, Admiral." Durandal replied before specifically addressing the officers of Carpentaria and Gibraltar. "Let it be clear that this man cannot be allowed to simply slip away, nor must we allow ORB to push us back should they refuse to hand him over. Not only does that nation pride itself on it's highly advanced military technology, but because of it's mass driver it also has a route to space and that is what has me concerned. Should Djibril be able to leave the Earth with ORB's military strength and link up with the large military force that the Alliance has stationed on the Moon then the PLANT homeland could find itself under threat once again..." The expression on his face seemed to stiffen, as if he was adding emphasis to his next words. "That is the last thing I want to see happen." The officers began to speak amongst themselves again with a large amount of worry.

"Have you all forgotten that this man is the leader of Blue Cosmos and a rabid anti-coordinator? We must be swift and act with a degree of brute dexterity to ensure that neither Djibril, nor ORB, cause anymore unwanted harm." Kendan stated.

"Admiral, are you suggesting that Djibril is being deliberately aided by ORB?" Talia questioned.

"Is that a trick question, Captain? He is in ORB right now! They are as guilty as he is..." Kendan groaned. 'I understand you may have a soft spot for that flyspeck of a nation but it's time to toughen up, Gladys. No more taking it easy. I'll be sure that your 'kind' nature does not cost Zaft anymore, and now I have the weapon to make that statement a reality.'

"It's inconceivable that ORB is the only country that doesn't know we're looking for him, Captain." Durandal informed, while Gladys locked eyes with him.

"Then tell me, even if our objective is to capture Djibril, are we to avoid civilian casualties at all costs?" Talia asked as Durandal cocked an eyebrow, while Kendan growled in a subtle manner.

"Of course, Captain. There's no doubt about it. However..." Durandal stepped up and out of his seat and walked towards the large window behind him. "Until the Junius Seven incident we considered ORB to be a friendly nation... we were close to it. However, times have changed as of late. Right now I can't help but feel... disappointed. Nevertheless we have no intention of backing away from this situation. Logos has gotten away with it's machinations for far too long, and it is time that we put it to an end, once and for all, understood? It's time that they were brought to Justice!" The Chairman stated, a great boldness lining his voice as a roar of 'Yes sir' and salutes erupted from the officers around him, both close and far away.

* * *

Seiran estate, ORB Union:

Yanata Ema and Yuna Roma Seiran were resting on a couch in one of the mansion's living rooms, with Lord Djibril facing them from the other side, several bodyguards stationed around the room.

"Well anyone with a brain in their head could see what kind of little game Durandal is playing here... hehe..." Djibril chuckled, relaxing with a smirk.

"Of yes, most definitely." Yuna replied with a large magnitude of enthusiasm.

"Yes... right..." Yanata lowered his head with worry while answering.

"You know if he were to take over this world, there would be no place for people like you fine gentlemen. Well not to worry, ORB's efforts will not be in vain. We'll be launching our counterattack soon enough." Djibril chuckled.

"Roar..." Paladin meowed from somewhere else in the room.

"Counterattack? Ooh, please enlighten me, Djibril." A spoiled Yuna raised an eyebrow.

"With pleasure... in time, Durandal will return to space, and when that happens I will follow him." The Leader of Logos paused and heightened the far edges of his smile. "And then, that is when Requiems, loud and deceiving, will play, and bring this terrible conflict to an end, once and for all."

"The Requiem?" Yanata asked.

"Indeed, Seiran. I must say, I am very impressed with the findings that were located on the Archangel when Suez captured it. That which was lost, has been returned to it's rightful owners... and as such, Justice is done. I doubt this farce of a war will go on for much longer with that in mind."

"This 'farce of a war'?" A perplexed Yuna asked as Djibril set down his coffee cup and stood up, snapping his fingers and walking over to an expensive looking wood China cabinet near the wall, while Paladin rushing over towards him.

"War... war is a great gamble, my young friend." He picked up the fluffed out black feline. "It is the ultimate expression of what we are... an expression of instinctual desires, recklessness, and a willingness to take cocky risks. If someone is to be the aggressor of any war, then they themselves must be a strident Consequentialist. Believe me, as the CEO of Adukurf-Mechano Industries and a pure born Capitalist from day one, I know this to be true."

"Ugh... Yuna..." Yanata rested back in his chair, looking over to his young, purple haired son and sighing, as if to end this conversation.

"Father..." Yuna looked at Yanata for a second, before gazing back at Djibril, who had Paladin now resting on his shoulders and behind his neck. "Keep going."

"Those who start wars do so because they are certain that their ends justify their means, and that the time of 'the means justifying the ends' must come to a close. Ironically, the cost of saving humanity and preventing it from crumbling into utter darkness, nothingness and chaos is... human lives. Our ignorant footmen butcher each other, our factories birth large war machines that can potentially be destroyed in an instant, and our scientists come up with additional concepts for weapons of mass destruction for the sake of ramming our point into the face of our enemies in such a way that they will fear us and never stand up and foolishly fight us again, or so that is the ideal. Heck, we even allow our doctors to perform experiments which, by some, are regarded as 'abominations' or 'the work of mad scientists'... an example of this is the Extendeds project. However, the concept of the Extendeds is an expression of the goodness in the hearts of men like me."

He leaned forward a tad, smiled, and placed his right hand over his heart. "Actions such as those are taken so that we may gain an advantage and be victorious in the war, so the efforts and lives of the vast majority of the ignorant masses and righteous soldiers are not wasted. That, Yuna Roma Seiran, is war." He raised his left fist and tightened it. "However this war is a farce because it denies such actions. People like Durandal criticize Logos and the Alliance for the Extendeds project, as well as the production of nuclear missiles, but they are the grand hypocrites, for they were the ones who have been fiddling with our very blueprints, and they were the ones who nearly destroyed Earth a few years ago. Yet, despite all that, they think there's a high horse for them to stand on, they think they are 'in the right'... they couldn't be more wrong if they tried, to be honest." Djibril explained as his cat meowed shortly after.

"Ah, I see. That was very insightful, Lord Djibril. I must say... your words are inspiring..." Yuna replied gleefully as Yanata sighed, one of the Seiran's servants entering the room from one of the doors.

"Yuna... I need to..." The elder attempted as the servant leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear, the eyes of Yanata Ema becoming beach balls behind their orange glasses. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY MANAGED TO...!" He yelled as Djibril snapped his fingers.

"Yanata Ema, is there a problem?" He asked, a drop of sweat rolling down the face of ORB's elder.

"Not... not at all." Yanata replied as he turned to his son. "I want you to prepare a statement to Zaft about how we intend to respond to their demands, and make sure you don't mess it up, alright? I've got some other matters to attend to... urgent matters."

"Ah, yes... father. If you insist." Yuna replied as he stood up and made his way to the door.

"Problems, Yanata Ema?" Djibril walked back towards the couch and sat down while Paladin jumped off of his lowered shoulders onto the thick carpet below.

"Nothing... I cannot handle. I hope." Yanata shook his head with disdain.

"I wouldn't worry. We failed to correct the errors of the Cosmic Era in the previous war but now fate has given us a second shot. Opportunity has stripped down in front of us and I intend to capitalize on her to the best of my abilities... however, to do so, I need you to buy me time. You'll see, it'll all be worth it in the end, mark my words."

"I understand, although the cause of my vexation is not necessarily Zaft..." Yanata replied, the tone and volume of his voice acting as indicators to how much his age has affected him.

* * *

Archangel, Heaven's Base:

Now fully resurrected from her fall, the ship had been completely repaired to her normal state, although under new management. In her large eight suit-capacity hanger the Zaft gundams registering series numbers of X19S, X20S, X35S and X70S waited, standing up straight and docked to the ship with their phase shift deactivated to several dull shades of gray. As the two doors at the back of the bridge opened up, a certain Zaft FAITH badge equipped Zaft purple suit walked towards his seat with a look of smug satisfaction, pride, and a certain stride in his step. However as much as the focus was on Admiral Kendan Westenfluss, the room was not silent, as many of the new Zaft personal spoke amongst themselves, making the final few preparations.

"Ready to test engines. Conduits and APU online. Power flow: Stable."

"Containment and formation gauges nominal. Radiation levels within acceptable levels."

"Maintaining external impact dampener to about thirty percent."

"Airtight bulkheads and water tight bulkheads are confirmed closed."

"Life support systems functioning normally."

"Eh em..." Kendan mumbled, standing to the right of the Captain's Chair as the bridge crew broke away from what they were doing and turned towards him, a voice coming from below the main section of the bridge, by a man who was sitting in the same chair that the great Natarle Badgiruel once did.

"Captain on the bridge!" A man with short, dark blue hair and chocolate brown eyes named Erin Dubu stated as he saluted the man above him, both literally and figuratively.

"Sir!" The remaining crew members quickly rose up and placed their straight right hands near their head. The important bridge officers of the Archangel consisted of Erin Dubu, Kendan's second-in-command, as well as a few others, such as Mary Walafi, a women who resembled a typical Scandinavian for the most part, who served as the CIC operator. Other notable figures were Ian Fran, the green eyed, long black haired Caucasian helmsman and finally the already known Meyrin Hawke, stationed where Mirallia Haww once was. As Admiral Kendan Westenfluss scanned the area around him, he saw what he wanted to see: Strong, young soldiers willing to fight for their homeland, the PLANTs, but who were also competent enough to fulfill the responsibilities that came with being a crew member of the legendary Archangel.

"Right then..." Kendan gently sat down in his chair and placed his arms on their rests before taking a deep, meaningful breath. "Prepare to launch the ship as soon as possible."

"Aye, sir. Linking main power. Systems showing all green. All Archangel systems are online."

"Commence flooding of the hanger bay." Kendan ordered sternly as he subtly began to adjust his headrest and chair levels in general, for they were still set to the levels assigned by Captain Ramius. 'I'm shorter than her... even now I'm cursed... pah.' He mentally laughed.

"Commence flooding." Mary responded as the massive hanger bay began to fill with great amounts of water.

"All laminated armor plates are active. Ablative gel injector pressure levels are satisfactory. APU conduit separation confirmed." Ian Fran added.

"One fifty... one sixty..." Mary began as the chamber continued to flood with liquid water, overtaking the bottom of the Archangel's hull and moving on to it's upper sections at the same time. "One eighty..." The water reached the bottom of the neck. "Pressure at thirty. FCS... looking good. All weapon banks, levatators online." The water now overtook the windows outside of the bridge until the entire vessel was underwater. "Full gauge."

"Alright. Open the main gate." Kendan commanded, leaning forward somewhat.

"Opening main gate, Admiral." Mary continued.

"Now release the restraining arms. Engines... twenty five percent. Proceed at a reasonable pace."

"Engines to twenty five percent." Ian pushed up on the Archangel's thrust controls as it's six main thrusters began to roar to life and push the ship forward, bit by bit, into the cold arctic water outside.

"Once we're free climb at thirty five degrees and increase engine output to maximum." Kendan continued to order as the white and red vessel left the hanger of Heaven's Base and tilted upwards, the thermal nuclear pulse thrusters increasing their output even further as light began to penetrate the bridge from the surface.

"All sections checked and reported in. All stations stable." Erin informed from down below.

"Ten seconds until we reach the surface." Ian continued, the front legs and bridge of the ship piercing through the rough ocean waters and rising upwards from them, the rest of the mighty ship following.

"We are clear. Archangel is taking off! Set course towards Operation Justice's Fleet with the pre-assigned route!" Kendan yelled while the Archangel shook due to its efforts to rise out of the water which caused a great amount of turbulence. However once it was free the Archangel ascended to a moderate height and then took a slight turn to it's port, flying off into the distance.

* * *

Ten minutes later, inside the Hawke sister's cabin:

"Well we're all out of the water now and heading towards ORB, so no more turbulence for a while, sis." Meyrin spoke as she opened the door only to see her sister sitting on the computer terminal's chair get up and practically throw herself onto her respective bed. "Yeah..." Luna sighed, falling back down onto her pillows. "Now we just have to wait for... how many hours until we make it to ORB? Geez, I might as well fall asleep... although chances are Athrun and Rey will probably want me there to discuss 'strategy and tactics'." Luna groaned, while Meyrin giggled a little, sitting down on the edge of her bed as well.

"Well, you did do a number to the outside of Heaven's Base. Weren't several areas there blocked off because you used your positron cannon so many times?"

"Hmm..." Luna raised her right hand up in the air and began to count. "I took out three of them, right? One above the water... another above the water although the beam itself did manage to 'damage' the shoreline. And finally... the fourth one we killed, I took down with the Colossus, and the beam hit the mountain behind it where they had that other weapon. I guess I did go a little overboard. However those Logos guys... considering what they've done and what they've built, serves them right if they get a little annihilation radiation!" She tightened her right hand and slammed it into the sheets with a growl.

"I guess so, Lunamaria." Meyrin lowered her tone, as well as her head. "Although... I wonder how much fighting there's going to be... once we get to ORB. I mean, weren't they considered friendly for a while?"

"Well you tell me, Meyrin. After all, you were on the Minerva when it went after... well, this ship." Lunamaria stated as she got off of her bed and went over to the computer desk, pulling one of the drawers open as a response. "How did they react."

"Well they fought back when we shot at them. Still..." The younger Hawke began to use her left hand to play with her hair somewhat. "Why would they give shelter to a guy like that Lord Djibril character? I mean, I was shocked when I looked at the first Destroy and how hard of a time that Shinn... and even Kira Yamato had with it! That thing would have paraded through all of Eurasia and killed so many people if we didn't stop it, and now ORB has taken up the man who ordered something like that to happen? Ugh... doesn't make sense to me." Meyrin shook her head as Lunamaria found what she was after.

"I know what you mean, sis. However all that militaristic... politicking... negotiating nonsense, I say it's best if we leave it up to the top brass to decide what's the right move." She closed her drawer and then sat back down on the bed.

"Are you sure about that, Luna?" Meyrin questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much." Luna answered as she flipped through the pages of the notebook she had taken. In it was held the autographs of some of her schoolmates as well as other Zaft Aces she had managed to meet at the Academy, as well as the signatures she had got from the ORB soldiers during their first meeting before the operation to break up Junius Seven. "I mean, think about our family back at the PLANTs, the Chairman and the Supreme Council are thinking about them and the rest of the citizens of PLANT like how we are. They don't want them to get hurt just like how we wouldn't want our relatives to die... right..."

"Yeah, but, Luna..."

"But we're young, Meyrin. They've got a lot more experience than us... I know what's important to me and what I want to protect... and you do too. However people like the Chairman, Admiral, and even Captain Gladys... they are the ones who tell us how we can protect what we love and make sure it isn't harmed." She flipped through the pages, seeming to admire them.  
"I guess you're right, Luna." Meyrin said as she decided to lay down on her bed too. "I just wish this stupid war would end though. Now it looks like we're on a wild goose chase after some angry villain type."

"And that's why I'll make sure to get Lord Djibril one we reach ORB, Meyrin. I don't want this stupid, meaningless war to go on any longer, and I want the both of us to be able to go back and see our family soon... I think I'm getting a little homesick, and you must be suffering from the pain of that too." She closed the notebook and stood up, walking towards the door, placing the book back down on the desk again.

"Are all wars stupid, Luna? I think they are." Meyrin sighed, her voice tiring out. Unlike the pilots, she was on the Archangel's bridge for a time and was getting the ship ready for flight. Something like that was going to be exhausting, weather it be the mind or body that has it's energy depleted.

"I do too. That's why I've made my reasons to be a soldier simple. Now I'm going to go check on the Colossus."

* * *

Archangel Pilot's Lounge, shortly afterwords:

Elite FAITH pilots Athrun Zala and Heine Westenfluss, as well as several other Zaft soldiers and crew members had gathered in front of one of the Archangel's monitors. Right now, word was spreading that the ORB Government was moments away from making an official statement regarding the whereabouts of Lord Djibril and the demands made by Chairman Gilbert Durandal.

"Now that Cagalli's gone... I wonder who they'll have up there speaking." Athrun murmured as he focused upon the screen, which displayed an empty podium and an ORB symbol behind it.

"Who do you think would be best suited for such a task, Athrun? Given your past experiences with that nation... I think you would be able to make a well informed choice if it was up to you." Heine asked, turning his orange haired head towards Athrun in the process.

"Hmm, let me think about it for a second, Heine. To be honest, there were several cabinet ministers there who I think would be adequate, but considering that the Seirans have practically taken over ORB now... Yanata Ema would be my best guess. Although the worst person they could have speak for them would be..." Athrun explained, only to be cut off as Yuna Roma Seiran entered the camera's view from the left and took position on the podium, preparing to speak. "... him... Yuna..." Athrun rolled his eyes.

"I hear he was one of the Commanders that lead the combined fleets of ORB and the Alliance against us while we were defending Diocula. Considering how ORB managed to put up the fight they did... why would he be a terrible choice?" Heine questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Heine, you must be joking. Knowing Yuna Roma he probably had the most competent ORB officer there come up with the strategy. Believe me, as someone who lived there for two years, he's probably the biggest delusional moron this world has ever seen. I know I almost never speak about others with negativity, but in the case of Yuna, it's warranted." Athrun ranted, the purple haired pretty boy on the screen preparing his speech.

"On behalf of the government of the ORB Union, allow me, Yuna Roma Seiran, to respond to the demands made by the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty and it's Supreme Council Chairman, Gilbert Durandal. In response to your harsh warning and demands you have made, the ORB Government feels the need to enlighten you about the current situation. Among your numerous demands, the individual who you have ordered us to surrender, Lord Djibril, is not present in this nation at this point in time. Furthermore, we, the ORB Union, feel that it is an insult that the PLANTs, our once close friend not only would dare accuse of giving this man sanctuary, but also feel that they have the _right _to blockade our shores with their naval forces and demand something from a healthy sovereign nation by force, even should he somehow be present here. Such bully tactics, intimidation and demonstrations of brute, unjust imperialism are nothing more than barbaric and little more than an expression of the immature stance that the PLANTs have adapted these past few months.

Such threats of force that are used for little more than the purpose of tarnishing the good name and reputation our nation state has developed over these past few names is an insult to our sovereignty and right to self-determination. Therefore we insist that you withdraw your forces at once or we will be forced to take actions and drive you from our shores. That is all!" Yuna Roma stated, loud and clear, for all to see. Once his mouth shut however, the group of soldiers in the Archangel's pilot's room began to laugh their heads off in response.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, _'handsome'_!"

"Drive us from the shores? Fat chance, Mr. Spoiled Royalty!"

"They sent this joker out? Are they asking us to come in and take the man by force?"

"It appears so. I'm guessing this is the grand invitation. I mean, I know ORB was a backwards nation, but not this backwards."

"QUIET!" Athrun Zala stood up and yelled at the top of his lungs towards the fellow crew members aboard the Archangel, silencing them instantly. "Listen, I know right now that this all seems like a complete joke, but it isn't. Right now, a man who is responsible for the deaths of many innocent civilians, and who has made the complete extinction of our people, the coordinators, one of the goals in his life is taking refuge in that country. I have seen the proof myself from Chairman Durandal. Although I was once close to ORB's Chief Representative, that time has past when we decided to go our separate ways. It may seem that the person who has just spoken on behalf of the government that is giving Lord Djibril safety may come off a complete parody of what a politician should be, this is no laughing matter.

Numerous times the PLANTs themselves have come under attack due to the actions of the individual who they are nestling in their care. That is the reason why this war; this great act of injustice has been committed." Athrun began, while the Zaft soldiers calibrated their sights on him, their gazes fixed upon his being, whispering amongst themselves in the process.

"Athrun Zala..."

"Redeemed Son of the Dark Chairman..."

"The Red Knight..."

"Saviour of Sextillus Five..."

"He who is Justice itself..." One of the soldiers stated, catching the attention of the blue haired pilot.

"My friends... fellow comrades, if there is something that must be said right now, if there is a bit of advice I can give you before we start the final operations intended to end this war, and all wars forever, then let it be spoken now. What is right is never a question; it is not a variable, and it does not change. Deep down inside, it always stays constant, eternal, adamant, and should one who is practicing it be strong enough, then it cannot be defeated. What I mean to say is that one who is well versed in the black and white areas of right and wrong; who is sure of their believes and objectives, who believes in themselves and their causes and is determined to bring injustice to an end, then they _cannot _be defeated. For that is what war is, it is a battle between those who are misguided and seek injustice, claiming that they know what is right, against those who are right and who will defeat them based on that sheer fact alone.

We now stand to face the man who has little more than a desire for all of us, our friends, families, and loved ones, to perish; we stand before he who is inherently wrong. There comes a time when the line must be drawn, and the Chairman, as well as others like myself, have stated that enough is enough. It is time to end the battle between good and bad that has plagued humanity since its inception; it is time to end Logos, that which is war given physical form." Athrun Zala spoke clearly and without any sense of miscommunication in his voice, his point having had reached the ears of his fellow Zaft soldiers, who, in their state of speechlessness, simply raised their arms in unison and gave the FAITH pilot a proud salute, while he saluted them back, proudly.

"Let us show Djibril that we coordinators will not simply back down without a fight, no matter how many times he wishes to threaten us."

"Indeed. Although I hope that ORB does not wait to learn it's lesson until we're right up in it's face." The soldiers slowly began to speak to each other once more, while Athrun still had one more thing to say.

"I just hope that the government of ORB does not treat this like a joke... they'd best have opened the shelters by now, for their people's sake." Athrun murmured, tilting his head down, noticing Heine as he moved towards the exit of the room and followed suit shortly afterwords.

"Athrun, that was amazing, I felt that you really did set some of those men straight there, considering how they took that speech." Heine stated as the two of them walked down one of the Archangel's many corridors.

"I know. While it may seem 'funny' at first, there's nothing 'funny' about this war. Once we actually engage the ORB forces, considering how much a fight they can put up, that point will become crystal clear in the blink of an eye. I just hope we manage to capture the bastard this time around."

"I feel the same way..." Heine shook his head in disgust. "That... back there... that is the kind of nonsense that starts wars in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Poor leaders who do not take their roles seriously, or who do not have the qualifications for the duties that they have placed on their shoulders. If I was asked why wars started, I'll give that as an answer."

"Oh, and what would make you say something like that, Heine?" Athrun questioned.

"Just look at this world over the past few years. The world, on Earth at least, has been led, for the most part, by idiots and bigoted racists who seem perfectly content on focusing on their own desires and ambitions while leaving other responsibilities, like the well being of their state or people on the sidelines and as a result those people have suffered. They all seem to have an idea of what is perfectly good for the world and will pursue that ideal first and foremost however, sooner or later, the goals of different leaders collide and create conflicts and wars." Heine explained as Athrun shook his head.

"Like how the Alliance fired a nuclear missile at Junius Seven and destroyed it along with many people... including my mother..." The Red Knight lowered his head, clenched his right fist, and closed his eyes for a second in pain while his friend stopped and waited. "However..." Athrun stated as he regained himself and stood up straight once more with green open eyes. "After that, in order to ensure that more people living in the PLANTs did not die, we launched our neutron jammers unto the Earth and disabled their ability to develop nuclear missiles, but also knocked out the majority of their power supply stations in the process... and caused mass suffering among the people of the Earth Alliance. Our interests collided and we all suffered. Is that it? Yes, it is." Athrun said grimly as Heine shook his head in a positive response.

"Indeed, my friend. That same cycle has repeated itself during this war as well, just in a slightly modified way. Nonetheless, it is fundamentally the same."

"You know, I just realized something." Athrun chuckled slightly while the two passed through one of the Archangel's hallway intersections.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"We're fighting for the same reason that you've stated is a problem. Right now, Chairman Durandal wants to carry out his own ideas and solutions for humanity's problems, and right now he, along with you and I, are facing those who would stand against those ideas, like the bastard Djibril."

"And conflict has emerged from all this..." Heine's voice lightened up somewhat while speaking. "If that's the truth... then I guess we have to wonder: If we understand how opposing forces leads to war, then why are fighting for one of those forces?" The Westenfluss inquired, Athrun stopping mid step to answer.

"Because, Heine... because we know what we're doing is the right thing for humanity." Athrun muttered.

"That is true, and it is both ironic and a tragedy, Athrun, for it is the way of the world. However because we are the ones fighting for the purpose of ending the war..."

"...We are in the right." Athrun sparked, cutting Heine off. Granted, the Assassin's pilot didn't get upset, but rather he approved of Athrun's words with a head bobble.

"This war began because the idiots in charge of the nations of Earth couldn't keep their people in line and instead decided to launch another attack on us. Even ORB is guilty of this, and your ex-girlfriend, Attha." Heine stated while Athrun huffed and shook his head. "Even people like her, who I think both you and I would agree on had good intentions in the first place, failed to put aside their own biases and because of that war broke out again. I may sound bold but I don't think she was fit for her position as Chief Representative, and when she disappeared, what did the ORB Government do? Did they put someone in charge who knew what they were doing? No, they did not, they put that guy in a position of power, a person who doesn't even have a fraction of her leadership capabilities. It's such a tragedy, isn't it?"  
"Cagalli did what she thought was right, but she was young, and still learning, just like us. That being said, she made some decisions which I think were rather questionable myself. Did I try to advise her on them? Yes. Did she take my advice? And now... Kira and her... It is a tragedy, Heine." Athrun responded.

* * *

Durandal's Office in Gibraltar, a few minutes following the official response given by the ORB Union:

While only a few hours ago this room was almost completely empty in terms of it's furniture and equipment, all it took Zaft was a handful of minutes to morph the room into a makeshift television studio. A main camera was being aligned up right in front of Gilbert Durandal's desk while crews prepared recording and broadcast devices.

"Chairman, you are on in one minute." One of the camera crewmen informed as Gilbert sat firmly behind his desk with his hands linked together and placed on the surface in front of him, thoughts racing through his head on how to reply, as a countdown timer ticked slowly towards zero as he awaited his chance to reply to the ORB Union, and the people of the Earth sphere.

"Understood. Thank you." He said quickly. 'If the Seirans want to think of this war as a game, then by all means, I'm up for it. However, I won't be giving out any apologies after we make it clear that half-assed excuses for a response, like the one they just gave us, are not going to deter us from setting things straight. It's true, the best battle you can fight is no battle at all, but that is an ideal situation. Besides, I warned them beforehand.' Durandal thought quietly, not moving a muscle on his entire being besides those required to keep him in homeostasis.

"Alright... three... two... one..." One of the crewman said as the timer ticked down, the profile of a seated Chairman Durandal appearing on the view screens, televisions and computer monitors of many places around the world.

"I am Gilbert Durandal, Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council and Commander and Chief of Zaft. Earlier today, the ORB Union received demands from us ordering the surrender of Lord Djibril, a powerful figure in Blue Cosmos as well as the Alliance, both politically, corporately, and militarily. In response to our demands, the ORB Union stated that Lord Djibril was not located in their nation, a statement that I am sure they could repeat at this very moment. However, I have evidence that supports the contrary..." Durandal began as several images of Lord Djibril meeting with both Seirans, Jr. and Sr., were displayed for all to see. At the same time Djibril himself, who was positioned in the Seiran house, nearly had a heart attack, by the look on his face that Yanata Ema observed.

"Now, with this proof in mind, I will directly address Yuna Roma Seiran, who represented the ORB Union earlier today. I apologize for whatever offense the PLANTs may have made you feel, but right now it can't be helped. While you may feel the need to call out our methods and categorize them as 'bully tactics', 'intimidation', and 'demonstrations of brute, unjust imperialism', they are, in reality, the measures that I, as the Head of State of my own nation, must take for the protection of my people. The PLANTs do not mean to purposely infringe upon ORB's right to self-determination, however right now our interests are to ensure that our right to live, nor the national security of our own nation is not compromised because of ORB's decision to give asylum to a known, dangerous terrorist and political extremist. _That _is all." Durandal quietly finished as the camera crews shut off their devices and began to pack up their equipment, while a group of high ranking Zaft personal, whom most of which were already present earlier, approached the Chairman's desk, while the man with long black hair stood up to address them.

"Our forces will be ready to attack ORB's main islands in one hour."

"Good. The situation right now had the potential to get our of control and reach levels of chaos beyond measure should Djibril manage to re-establish control over the remaining Alliance Forces. Right now, we have no alternative it seems. I see no reason to allow this political charade to continue on forever. If they insist on responding to our concerns with blatant lies, even after we reply to them, then in the names of _freedom, justice, destiny, and peace_ for all, **I will take action! **Initiate Operation Justice! Drag Lord Djibril out of ORB!"

"Sir!" The black and purple suits responded in one resulting wave of unison.

* * *

Seiran Estate, ORB Union main island:

"You disappoint me... Yuna..." Yanata Ema mumbled to himself, sighing greatly as he did before turning to the figure at his left: Lord Djibril. The two of them had just head of Chairman Durandal's reply and were preparing for the worst. "I think it's time we prepare your shuttle for launch, Lord Djibril."

"I agree... although I wish I could have stayed longer and enjoyed the ORB Sun... there's no helping it now." Djibril replied as he bent over and picked up Paladin. "Now, don't you dare have the same type of fit you did last time we went into space, alright?" He praised the black cat.

"Meow!" Paladin cheered as two guardsmen in black suits entered the room.

"They'll take you where you need to go. Be sure to get there with all due haste... and be sure this isn't all in vain..." Yanata warned. 'With how much this is going to cost ORB... and how much it already has, he had better hold his word... oh, what has become of this world...'

"Don't worry, good friend. Zaft will see ORB as the least of their problems... just... defend my shuttle and then wait a couple of days, then it will all be over and done with, I give you my word..." Djibril smiled, making one final statement as he exited the room, while several high ranking ORB military officers approached the elder Seiran from another corner of the decorated chamber.

"Open the shelters and issue an evacuation order for all sectors and set up a defensive parameter as soon as possible." Yanata ordered.

"Sir!" They replied in a loyal fashion while the head of the house turned towards one of his servants.

"What's the news on the 'incident' that took place earlier in the hospital? Has anything come of it?"

"I'm afraid we haven't been able to receive any information on that yet, milord." The butler answered.

"Ahh... just great... what more could go wrong." Bits of perspiration slid down the head of Yanata Ema Seiran while he took off his glasses with his left hand, only to place his right palm on his face afterwords in stress and shame.

* * *

Durandal's personal quarters in Gibraltar:

"Rey, how are you doing, and what's the Archangel's status?" The Chairman questioned, just having had opened a line with the Archangel, which was making it's way towards ORB.

"Sir! I'm doing fine, as is the rest of the crew from what I gather. As of now the Archangel has not displayed any problems with her performance and we expect to link up with Operation Justice's forces in a matter of hours." Rey answered.

"Very good. The attack should be coming under way in about forty minutes. Luckily for us the forces that the Atlantic Federation so conveniently placed around ORB have been withdrawn for whatever reason. Now it's just ORB we have to deal with." Durandal said, his voice sour.

"I understand, Chairman. However, I must ask you... with the lose of ORB's Chief Representative and her brother... how does that change our plans?" Rey asked.

"It doesn't. We'll just get what is necessary from ORB itself, that is all. If they are so intent on putting up a fight for the sake of appeasing their friend in Logos then by all means, we're up to the challenge. That doesn't mean that we won't take what we need in the process though." Durandal replied.

"I see." Rey lowered his head somewhat and went quiet, having had exhausted his list of questions, for now at least. Durandal, while seeing this, took the liberty of navigating his computer until a certain group of files that were marked as 'Chairman Only' popped up on his screen, a document with the heading 'Destiny Plan' blanketing most of the monitor, bar the communication window with the Legacy's pilot.

"It's an odd thing, isn't it?"

"Sir?"

"War... it's a problem that humanity has faced in the past and in the present. Issues that arose when man first discovered fire... when we discovered electricity and the need to create it in the most cost effective and efficient ways possible... to ensure that every household had proper plumbing, to create mass food stores for hungry populaces... to discover the cures for diseases... war is just like that. War will end when humanity finally develops the ability to see beyond it's own bias and delusions of grandeur."

"Like the idea that the world, or even the entire universe, was specifically created for mankind to use as it's playground? Or that our species, setting aside the advanced power of our brains, has some kind of inherent value that makes us worthwhile and our lives sacred by default?"

"You are correct, Rey." Durandal commented, scrolling down the page and looking into the finer details of the Destiny Plan, as well as what is required for it to be able to function properly in the world. "I think we've come to the stage where people need to finally learn to accept who they are and what role they are to play in society, rather than continuing reaching for great, selfish goals and causing more problems then solutions in the end. That is the definition of war. However, like all obstacles, it can and will be overcome, if people have a strong enough desire to rid themselves of it in the end. The ideology of violence, like any other failed system before it, will be defeated. It is just a matter of fine tuning the weapon used to eliminate it." Durandal explained.

"And the process of calibrating said 'weapon' has been going on forever, since humanity's inception, with each generation adding to it's accuracy and power bit by bit. Over the years the methods of warfare and reducing bloodshed have been improved exponentially. However, sometimes... one decides to take things into their own hands, and tries to commit the ultimate atrocity..." Rey stated as he raised his right palm and looked until in shame, remembering someone else. Someone close to him. Someone who he was, and was not: Rau Le Creuset.

"Rau lost his faith in humanity, Rey. That is what caused him to say and do the things he did. Instead of trying to work with humanity he took the most logically sound route to ending all our problems. As one of the most tyrannical dictators once said: _"__Death solves all problems - no man, no problem.""_

"Stalin, Chairman."

"Indeed. However the logic of men like them is flawed. No man, no one around to bask in the rewards of your efforts; of the peace you have obtained, that you have been working and striving for. Therefore, what you have done has been for nothing. However, even though I mostly disagree with the minds of totalitarians of old, or of Rau himself, I agree with them on one point, and that is where Logos comes in. That's the thing, isn't it. All theories, good or bad, should they have some degree of legitimacy to them, can never be completely wrong. They are never wrong so much as they are incomplete and in need of improvement. A perfect system of world peace and a stable humanity can be obtained it's just a matter of time, and that time is now, I'm sure of it."

"The Destiny Plan... it must be brought to fruition."

"And if people want a peaceful world where they can live a happy life, then they will have it. I'm sure that now we are on the brink of realizing that world, with all that we have learned. All that is required is that humans learn to humble themselves and realize what role they are meant to play, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what they themselves are, deep down inside."

"I agree with you completely, sir." Rey stated.

"I know you do, Rey." Durandal smiled. "Now go get some rest before the Archangel reaches ORB territory. That's an order." He demanded as Rey gave him a quick and firm salute before deactivating the monitor.

* * *

The calm waters of the Pacific Ocean were disrupted as a large, three hundred and fifty meter long object flew over them at a high speed with a loud, low, swooshing sound. However inside the bridge of Zaft's LHM-BB01 Minerva, everything was relatively quiet. As the officers continued with their usual duties, nothing but white noise of the ship itself could be heard, bar the almost silent press of a keyboard button. Abbey Windsor, a young green suited female with ear-length light yellow hair and light blue eyes now sat in the same location that Meyrin Hawke once did, although she would be the one to break the silence of the bridge.

"Captain... permission to ask you a question?"

"Heh, not at all. What is it?" Talia responded, a slight chuckle present at the start of her speech.

"Is this bridge... always this... well... quiet? Or is it usually louder?" Abbey asked, making one final check on the instruments at her station before turning her chair towards the bow.

"Umm.. well..." Talia tried.

"It's sometimes quiet, although usually not as silent as it just was." Arthur answered from his spot. "The Captain usually keeps us busy while we're traveling, and Meyrin would usually have something to say."

"Oh..." Abbey pressed her spine into the back of her chair at those words. "Well then... I see."

"Is something the matter?" Talia turned towards her new crew member. "If there's a problem, don't be afraid to inform us. I like running a ship where people are a little more open about things; where group cohesion is achieved. Makes things run a lot smoother."

"It's just... I hope I can fill Meyrin Hawke's shoes then. That's all." Abbey stated with a hint of insecurity, only to have her Captain smile.

"You'll do fine. You don't think I didn't look at your record before accepting you on board?" Talia questioned, the Minerva itself seeming to turn slightly to it's port.

"Performing final course change. Five degrees to port. Estimated time till we arrive at target location: Forty five minutes." Malik Yardbirds stated, gently twisting the Minerva's controls back to their normal positions.

"Hmm... well..." Abbey paused.

"Just be sure to follow along, work at the best of your abilities, and be there when I need you. That's all I have to ask." Talia stated, turning back around to face the front and crossing her left leg over her right.

"Yes, yes Captain." Abbey said.

"I prefer ma'am most of the time, but Captain works too." Talia spoke.

"Right." Abbey finished.

"Speaking of which... Captain." Arthur spoke up as the bridge crew focused on him. "I was just wondering... what's your opinion on what happened at Heaven's Base. I mean, we lost those four machines as well as their pilots..."

"We didn't lose them, Arthur. They were transferred." Talia corrected. "As for my opinion on the whole ordeal... well, I think I know what's going on."

"What would that be, Captain?" Bart questioned from the radar station.

"'When you draw your sword, what's most important is that you have a just cause.' An old Academy instructor told me that once in officer training, although I forget her name. Right now, I'm a bit worried, because for all I know, this battle may end up even worse than the one at Zagreb in the worst case scenario. The Chairman has made his intentions clear and so has the Supreme Council. We're chasing one man around the Earth sphere but at the same time we need to be careful and only do what is necessary to avoid unnecessary loses. ORB, while it has an impressive military, is more than just a military base, it's an entire nation. Although I guess, for some others, this coming battle will act as a test for their skills and abilities, as well as their ability to be tactful and hold back when required."

"Admiral Westenfluss..." Arthur mumbled, although he was loud enough for his Captain to hear him, and agree.

"Indeed. I'm not upset about what happened to the new, nuclear powered machines because I can see what Chairman Durandal is doing, and from a tactical perspective, I agree with it. While I may have my disagreements with the 'good Admiral' I am not going to deny that he is a skilled and powerful commander on the battlefield. With that in mind, it makes some sense for our most powerful units and pilots to be placed on one of the most powerful ships that we have, under our highest ranking commander." Talia explained.

"So what you're saying is that the Chairman is building up one strong, powerful, elite fighting force? Basically 'that which is to be reckoned with'?" Arthur inquired.

"That is correct. Although, that is not what worries me." Talia grimaced while placing her right hand onto her chin.

"And what would that be, Captain? Lord Djibril?" Bart asked.

"Lord Djibril? We've got him on the run right now!" Malik added.

"Um... well..." Abbey tried to say out loud, but failed.

"'Um well' is right. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Yes, while Djibril may be running, he may also be buying time. Preparing for something in the future. If my past instructor were to comment on the situation, I'd say that he would tell us that Djibril is waiting for his masterpiece of a sword to be ready for use. Then, he would draw it and attempt to strike us down, perhaps when we're most confident in our victory."

"So... expect the unexpected? Never let our guard down?" Abbey suggested. Then, right after she finished her sentence, Captain Talia Gladys snapped her left fingers.

"You got it." The Captain nodded.

* * *

Room outside of the Minerva's hanger bay:

Shinn was sitting around all by his lonesome, his pilot's suit on and his red helmet in hand, looking out onto the nearly empty hanger bay, which right now, only held two machines: The disassembled Impulse and the modified Gaia, although the later had subject to whatever ideas Vino, Yolan and the rest of the engineers decided to impose upon it.

"We'll be there in a bit... I wonder if the fighting has already started." Shinn looked at his right palm, and then the back of that hand, just staring at his end of his arm for no good reason, until the door that lead to the main hallways of the ship opened.

"Ah, there you are, Shinn." Stella giggled as the door closed behind her and she walked forward.

"Stella!" Shinn grunted, quickly making a one eighty and looking the young blonde right in the eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay in your room until the operation is over!"

"Because I wanted to see you before you go... and you still have some time left so what's the matter?" Stella tilted her head as she continued to walk towards him.

"Because I told you to go into your room so you would stay out of trouble! That's why!"

"Well, I don't want to!" Stella crossed her arms in an angry pout while Shinn smirked.

"Oh, are you sure? I guess you don't want to ever get that ring back too, right?" He questioned, her eyes growling larger in response.

"What? No! I want that back! Just..."

"Then go back to your room."

"No!" She slammed her foot down. "It's boring in there right now! And besides... I think that you might be uncomfortable right now!" Stella slowed down, approaching the bench where Shinn was sitting and proceeded to sit on it with him.

"What? Why would you say that, Stella?" Shinn asked with a calm voice.

"Because... you're going to be fighting ORB now. And don't think I'm stupid enough not to know about how you feel about ORB!"

"What about ORB?" She slapped him in the face. "HEY!"

"You asked for it! Don't play dumb!"

"Grr..." He growled while she smiled with her usual cheerfulness.

"Well, isn't this the place where your family died? And the place you hated for a while? Don't forget, I was there when you talked to Cagalli about it when we were in Diocula. So... how do you feel about fighting them? I want to know because..." Her voice died down, as if it was getting a little more depressed by the minute.

"Because... because what? Stella?" Shinn looked at the girl with weird eyes, only to have her look back at him with a tear rolling down her right side.

"Because... like at Heaven's Base, I really don't want you to get hurt, even if you're fighting to stop that monster Djibril! And even though they don't have Destroys... those ORB pilots are tough." She pleaded as he put his left arm around her and pulled her in close.

"Oh... Stella... I know you worry about me, but..." He then noticed how she had something in her left hand, and although it was clenched in her palm, it was visible. "What's that? You're holding something."

"It's..." She opened her palm, revealing one quarter of the piece of shell that had been divided between Shinn, Stella, and two others. "Do you still have yours? I've kept it on me since I got it."

"Hmm... I keep mine in my room... so it doesn't get lost on the battlefield, next to my sister's phone."

"That pink phone is all you have left of her, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Just like... how this... and you... are all that I think I have left right now, after what happened to Cagalli and the others." Stella cried lightly.

"Wh... what? Me? Why did you say I'm something that you have...?" Shinn questioned, his eyes bulging in surprise.

"Because... Shinn, do you honestly think that Cagalli or the other guys on the Archangel would have survived if the Earth Alliance found them? I don't think so..." She said, holding onto him a bit more.

"Is that why you want me to be safe out there?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright then... I'll be safe. Don't worry, Stella. I guess if Cagalli and the others are somehow gone... then any sanity that was left in the ORB Government left with her..." He shook his head in anger. "Dammit! I guess I'll have to do what I want... with what I have... when I have to." Shinn grumbled.

"Okay then... just, let me stay here until you have to sortie. Can I do that?" She asked in the most pure and sincere tone.

"Yeah, you can, Stella." Shinn smiled, hugging the blonde as the two waited things out in the Minerva together.

* * *

Zaft attack fleet gathering up along ORB's borders:

"Operation Justice is now underway. Upgrade to condition red! Upgrade to condition red!" A masculine voice echoed throughout the entire fleet as alarms went off, the attacking fleet preparing to make it's move.

"Target locations are confirmed. Seiran Estate on the main island, the Defense Headquarters, and the ORB Government." An officer of the Saint Helens, a Vosgulov-class submarine that would be serving as the flagship for the operation stated.

"Sqat team's ASHs, Weeloo team's GOUFs, ready for launch. All machines, weapons free." Another announcer broadcasted his voice through the hanger bays as many green shirted pilots entered their cockpit and powered up their mobile suits, the Captain of the Saint Helens making an announcement himself in the process.

"Although our target is Lord Djibril, don't hold back against the ORB Government either. They're Logos supporters. Either capture or eliminate the target as soon as possible... and if allowable, keep civilian casualties and the damage to the cities to a minimum." He stated as the Zaft machines left their respective vessels and powered up both engines and thrusters, going directly towards ORB's islands.

* * *

ORB Defense Headquarters:

"Colonel Soiga, the enemy attack is underway!"

"I know, and that's why we prepared! Launch our defenses! How is the evacuation going?" The Colonel asked.

"On schedule. The last of the shelters should be locked down in a matter of moments, sir."

"Good. Now be sure to hold them back! Give it your all!" Soiga ordered.

"First and second escort fleets, set sail immediately!"

"Intercept all enemy invasion forces and defend the Izanagi Coast!"

"All mobile suit teams, commence take off!" Several announcers commanded, the many television screens inside the Headquarters flashing to show many ORB ships and mobile suits leave take off and prepare to defend their homeland, while a certain Yuna Roma Seiran entered the room from an elevator and walked forward to the man in charge.

"BAH! Why is this happening! I told that pompous Durandal that Djibril isn't here." Yuna spat.

"And he called you out on your bluff, sir. He knew you were lying. Is that so difficult to believe?" Colonel Soiga responded in a very neutral, unoffending voice, although from the looks of it he wished to tear Yuna's head off if given the chance.

"What? You dare insult me!"

"I'm not insulting you. I am simply stating facts." Soiga continued, while several of the older ORB military officer seated at the planning table gave off angry looks and vibes. "Now, the time for taking has past. Zaft has initiated their attack upon our nation and unless you wish to phone in your friends in the Earth Alliance then stand by and allow us to do our job."

"Wha... ugh!" Yuna, feeling deeply insulted, took a step back.

"Why did the government choose to make such a foolish statement anyway? And why did the Alliance forces who formed a perimeter around our nation for the past few months back away only about a week ago?" Soiga closed in and questioned a frightened, lowly Yuna.

"Uh... uh... uh... because..."

"Because what? We could certainly use their aid right now, and after all, the Alliance is our ally, thanks to the treaty you practically forced Lady Cagalli to sign before she went missing!"

"Well... we decided that their aid was no longer needed!" Yuna stood up and crossed his arms. "That's all! They were no longer needed and were called back to their respective nations so that they could take a stand against Zaft in case Durandal decided to attack them at random!" Yuna spouted.

"Attack them at random... Haumae forgive me..." Colonel Soiga shook his head angrily, winding back his right arm and then plowing Yuna right in the face, knocking the purple haired Seiran into the wall behind him.

"TREASON!" Yuna yelled at the top of his lungs, only to have the soldiers there give him either blank or murderous stares. "I SAID TREA..."

"You said that Durandal would attack them at random, but that's completely false." One of the officers at the table, a bald man with a long, fluffy white beard spoke up. "Zaft is attacking us because you decided to shelter the man who is at the tip top of their most wanted list, and now we have to clean up the mess! What do you have to say about that, Yuna Roma? And where is your father? And where are our allies when we need them the most!?"

"Yeah, we helped them with their problem at the Dardanelles, or at least tried, and look what happened to us!" Another officer at the table stated.

"Indeed! We've gained nothing of value from the treaty with the Earth Alliance! Nothing at all!"

"The probability of Zaft 'randomly' opening fire upon the coast of the Atlantic Federation is practically zilch!"

"Enough" Colonel Soiga barked, silencing the room. "Right now we most focus on our defense, not on trying to call for allies who aren't coming!"

"But..." Yuna whined.

"Lord Seiran, unless you are here to either put your big mouth to work and both direct and address our soldiers, or you can bring in our friend in the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations then I suggest you leave this area at once and find shelter elsewhere! Defense Headquarters isn't the place for Princes!"

"What do you mean! It's safe here!" Yuna yelled.

"No it isn't. Do you honestly think that Zaft will just leave our military HQ in tact? Now, for your own safety, please this this area at once!" Two low ranking ORB personal surrounded Yuna from both his left and right. "Take him to where he needs to go, wherever that may be, now!" Soiga commanded as the two soldiers grabbed Yuna's arms and dragged him back to the elevator. "Now..." Soiga sighed. "What's the current situation, since we've been busy with a certain spoiled brat..."

"Colonel, do you think you should be calling Lord Yuna words like that?" One of Soiga's subordinates asked.

"If it's at all offending then you can press charges or have me court marshaled for some so-called treasonous actions later, but for now, we need to divert all attention to the situation at hand." The Colonel replied calmly, his friends at the planning table all nodding in agreement as the damage reports began to flood in.

"They've broken through Aramatzae's secondary defense line."

"The defensive lines on the main island are holding steady, if only just."

"Right then. We need to regroup our forces or we're going to be wiped out!" Soiga commanded.

"Yes sir!" Several troops responded as one of the control consoles began to beep.

"Colonel Soiga, detecting incoming mobile suits from the main island!"

"What? Match their IFF codes? What has Zaft managed to do?" Soiga asked, the entire room filled with the sound of key typing and orders being given out, while the monitors of the room displayed the ORB forces holding out against Zaft, although the battle was already reaching a stage that could only be described as vicious.

* * *

Zaft Flagship, the Vosgulov-class submarine known as the Saint Helens:

"The Does Team is taking damage. They're falling back!"

"We're being pushed back in Coastal Area Twelve."

"Huh?" The Captain grunted. "Well, it appears they're putting up quite the fight, considering who they're defending! Well then, deploy another couple teams of GOUFs! This is one nation we would like to see fold... now and forever." He whispered silently.

"Sir!" His second-in-command answered.

"Minerva at eight o'clock, Captain. Distance: Twenty." The radar operator stated.

"What? Open a channel." The Captain ordered as his crew member keyed in a command, an image of Captain Talia Gladys appearing on screen a handful of second later. "That you for coming all this way, Captain Gladys."

"Not at all. Now, what about the target? Have we been able to apprehend him?" Talia questioned, the ship's bridge having been lowered into it's combat level.

"Not yet. They're putting up quite the fight out there. It doesn't look they'll go down without one heck of a confrontation." He informed as Talia put her hand on her chin.

'This is typical of the ORB Union, they'll fight to the best of their abilities whenever it's necessary.' She thought.  
"The Minerva will take position on our left flank and support the Cliper Team for the time being. I want you to deploy your Ace, we've been having some problems near ORB's main island. After all, if he's defeated the legendary Kira Yamato there should be no issue." The Saint Helen's Captain ordered, saluting as the line was cut.

"Sending Shinn that far out? He may be good but no one's invincible." Talia sighed. "So be it. Malik, port ten and reduce engine output. Prepare for water landing. We may not be on the front lines but stay alert regardless. Maintain anti-air surveillance." She turned to Abbey. "Where's Shinn? Why hasn't the Impulse launched yet?"

"He's on it, Captain." Abbey responded.

"Have him hurry."

"Yes ma'am!" Abbey answered, the bridge shaking as the entire Minerva landed on the clear ocean waters outside of ORB and leveled itself off.

* * *

"Alright Stella, I need to go now... we're here." Shinn stated as he stood up with Stella.

"All pilots are to report to their machines and standby. I repeat: All pilots are to report to their machines!" Abbey's voice echoed throughout the room they were in and those adjacent to it.

"Fine then..." Stella whimpered as she let go of him. "Just, can I ask you one thing?"

"What's that? Stella?" Shinn questioned, looking at the very worried Extended.

"If something happens to Shinn while he's protecting the Minerva... and me... can I come out and help?"

"WHAT!" Shinn moved back in shock. "Stella... no! Do you know how much trouble that would get both of usin? _Especially_ you?" Shinn raged.

"I don't care... if Shinn's in trouble, I'll come out and help him! I can fight!" Stella raised one fist.

"Don't. Stella... don't, or you'll never get that ring." He looked at her sternly, while she held a stoic expression. "I'm serious. Now head back to your room. I've got to go now, it's late enough already." He grabbed his helmet and turned around before heading into the main hanger bay.

"Ooh... Shinn..." Stella groaned, shaking her head as she turned around and left the room.

* * *

Core Splendor:

"Sorry about that. I had some issues." Shinn stated as he fastened his helmet on, and then his seat straps, all while speaking to Abbey.

"It's fine. What module do you want though? Force, Sword or Blast?" Abbey asked as Shinn huffed.

"Force, no doubt about it. Against ORB Murasames and Astrays, thats a no-brainier." Shinn replied as the platform of the Core Splendor began to rise.

"Alright then." Abbey stated as a dot appeared on Shinn's navigation screen. "You're to aid our forces over here. They've been having some trouble with a couple mobile suits in this location." Abbey warned.

"All the way out there? Damn..." Shinn sighed. "Fine then. Just tell me when I'm ready." He barked as the platform came to a halt.

"Well, now you are." She said as Shinn nodded.

"Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!" Shinn announced as the central piece of the Impulse flew out of the Minerva's Central Catapult, followed shortly by the remaining three modules that would form the α Force variant, the four pieces all combining together as the suit took on it's red, blue, and white color scheme, it's shield expanding to it's full size as Shinn ramped up his controls to nearly full power. With that, the Impulse's thrusters ignited and burst off into the distance, away from the Minerva.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"And he's gone. The Impulse has launched." Abbey reported.

"Very good. Display a feed from it in the left monitor, alright?" Talia ordered.

"Right away, ma'am." The footage that was being captured from the Impulse lit up one of the Minerva's screens.

"Thank you." Talia stated. 'Good luck out there...'

* * *

In the meantime Shinn was making his way towards the designated coordinates. Still a fair distance from the front lines, the boy couldn't help but look on ahead and around him, and as he did, some memories returned to him. Memories of being a child growing up in ORB, and of his family. Then, some more recent flashbacks sparked in his mind, about how he was here earlier just as the war broke out, and about _those two._

'Kira... Cagalli... she's probably dead... if so then... even considering all that I've learned... about everything... then I guess I've got to do... what I've got to do...' Shinn thought, his radar beeping as he noticed the combat zone. BABIs and GOUFs engaged ORB Murasames and Astrays, and they seemed to be losing. "Alright then, now is the time..." Shinn whispered, noticing a pair of Murasames headed right for him in their Waverider modes, and with a few jerks and pushes of his control panel, the Impulse withdrew the MA-M941 "Vajra" Beam Saber on it's right side, the pink energy beam extending outwards as Shinn charged forward. "AHHH!" He yelled with anger as one of the transformable suits switched into it's mobile suit mode and gripped it's respective beam saber while the other took the route around, attempting to get behind Shinn as the two humanoid-like machines clashed beam saber blades together and backed off, rushing in once more and delivering powerful slashes at one another.

"Back off, punk!" The ORB pilot yelled as he pulled back and swung up from below until the Impulse.

"Screw you!" Shinn raged, powering backwards in order to evade the swing, and then quickly following up with charge coupled with a sideways swing, cutting off the Murasame's right arm and then quickly impaling it with his beam saber. "Who's next!" He stated, quickly performing a one-eighty and blocking a beam shot from the other Murasame. "Fine then." Shinn growled, sheathing his beam saber and pulling out the beam rifle from the Impulse's backside.

"Kazei! Err... you're not going to get past me, Zaft boy!" The other Murasame's pilot yelled as he dodged several shots from Shinn, twisting through the air and then ascending almost straight up, towards the sun, only to then take a dive bomb right onto the Impulse.

"Shit! Can't see because of that damned light!" Shinn squinted from the light, unable to fully notice the Murasame as it unloaded a full load of it's "Hayate" missiles on him, until they closed the distance by a fair degree. "Oh no you don't!" Shinn said, pulling back the Impulse's throttle and letting the gundam simply drop in the air while raising his shield and firing the Impulse's chest-mounted CIWS at the oncoming projectiles, striking them down with a chain reaction while the Murasame continued to fly down at him, firing shot after shot from it's beam cannon.

"AHH!" The pilot screamed, as if he was trying to dive bomb right onto Shinn in order to crazily attempt a kill.

"Err..." Shinn groaned, pushing the output of his engines back up as he slowed down and backed up a little bit absorbing several beam shots with his shield as he then ascended just as the Murasame passed by him, reached into the left side skirt of the Impulse and pulled out the M71-AAK "Folding Razor" Anti-armor Knife and whipped it downwards, the blade flipping and 'whooshing' through the air just before it struck the Murasame behind the cockpit and embedded itself in the doomed-to-explode mobile suit. "Whoa..." Shinn groaned, a small bead of sweat forming on his brow. "They're putting up one heck of a fight... even still, why the hell are our guys getting pushed back as much as they are?" Shinn asked as he looked on ahead to where the majority of the fighting was taking place, only to notice something that immediately caught his attention.

Two powerful, dark blue beam shots burst through the air and struck down a handful of GOUFs and BABIs in an instant, their origin being a burst of light blue energy off in the distance. This 'burst' was quickly moving about and every second or so it would launch a hostile beam out towards the Zaft machines. At the same time Shinn couldn't help but notice something else in the distance, that was reflecting light into his eyes while shining brightly in the air.

"What the hell is that?" The red eyed coordinator complained as he thrust forward towards the odd phenomenon, encountering several more ORB mobile suits and being forced to deal with them. "Oh just stop it!" He yelled, taking out one Murasame while two more looked as if they were trying to group around him. "Not happening, buddy!" He dodged out of the way of the two suits and flew downwards while evading beam fire, quickly flipping around and attempting to calibrate his beam rifle onto the enemy machines, only to find that... they were gone. "What the?" The Impulse's console beeped as several large, dark and powerful beams of energy blazed right over the Impulse, as if they purposely missed it, the light blue effect that Shinn had saw was coming right at him. "Alright then!" He readied himself, gripping the controls and rushing at the light, only to be forced into dodging more odd fire and opening his mouth somewhat as he noticed what he was aiming for was. "A mobile suit? A new model?"

Indeed, the suit Shinn was now engaged in battle with was a new kind of mobile suit, and something that had never been seen before. It was primarily black, with some blue and purple bits on it's body and armor, carried two beam oddly shaped beam rifles in it's hands, two large fixed cannons on it's back, and in general, seemed to resemble the ZGMF-X10A Freedom gundam of old, wings and all. Some major differences was that this machine lacked the side rail cannons, seemed to be a little bulkier than the original Freedom, specifically around the legs, had vents on the side of it's chest as opposed to only on the front, was equipped with larger wings that were generating a particle effect that could easily be described as 'wings of light', who's internal frame seemed to glow an icy silver blue color, and had many sensors lining it's body. In addition to this, the head and v-fin was set up differently, with the ladder consisting of two pairs of antenna, one of which pointed straight up and the other out at forty five degrees although in a zigzag pattern, had white eyes, an ORB Logo on it's left shoulder sensor and '02' on it's right shoulder sensor. Seeing this intimidating foe, Shinn gripped his controls a little more and charged forward.

"Alright then... who the heck are you? 'Black Freedom'? Is that a good name?" Shinn roared, locking onto target and unleashing a green beam shot at the enemy unit, which didn't seem to even try to move out of the way. "Pah, more bark then bite." He quipped, until the opposing machine took action a second later, raising it's left hand guard up, a prismatic shaped purple device on it's guard activating as a fairly sized blue shield emitted out of it in the shape of a diamond, blocking the beam shot outright. "What the heck? I thought only mobile armors or the suits Rey and the others had could do that?" Shinn narrowed his brow and fired again, this time at the suit's feet. In response the 'Black Freedom' strafed to it's left and easily avoided the shot, the bright, but dark blue energy wings it was emitting looking as if they were assisting in it's flight as it retaliated, aiming the beam rifle in it's right arm at the Impulse and pulling the trigger, an incredibly powerful red and blue blast of energy rushing forward at Shinn, who narrowly dodged out of the way by rising upwards, even though the shot felt weird, aiming wise.

'Was whoever was piloting that... even trying to shoot me down? Didn't seem like it?' He thought, the two mobile suits aiming their beam rifles at each other and sending off additional beam shots. While the 'Black Freedom' dodged Shinn shot, the unconventional round from it's rifle managed to strike Shinn's, burning right through the Force Impulse's one ranged energy weapon and forcing Shinn to throw it away and raise his shield to block as it exploded. "Dammit! This bastard's good!" Shinn grunted, his sensors beeping as the black gundam sent off a salvo from the two cannons kept pointed downwards on it's body, impacting Shinn's shield and pushing it down a fair bit, the red eyed coordinator groaning in pain as if a train had just struck his machine, the anti-beam coating on his shield expending itself as the protective plate flew off of the gundam's body. "Alright... I take back what I said earlier about why they shouldn't have had any problems with these guys... what the hell has ORB deployed here?" Shinn raged, reaching for both of his beam sabers and withdrawing them before rushing at the enemy unit and making evasive maneuvers. In response, the 'Black Freedom' placed the two beam rifles it was holding onto it's side skirts and reached to it's back skirts, the hands coming back up to the front with two beam sabers in hand, which each ignited a dark blue beam as the dark gundam combined them, end-to-end, into a beam naginata which it held in it's right arm while activating the shield on it's left hand, rolling in the air as the two machines closed in on each other.

And with a clash of blades they bashed against one another like opposing forces, taking an initial swing of which neither gained and lost, only to quickly make a one eighty and blitz together again, lightening sparking out of the area where the beams of the gundams collided. "Dammit! Bastard! If that's all you're packing then you're not using a close-quarters combat machine! Are you toying around with me then?" Shinn yelled, swinging up and down with both beams as the 'Black Freedom' blocked and countered with it's energy shield and naginata, black and white clashing yet again and flying away. However when Shinn turned around again and started to charge once again, he noticed a change in the enemy suit. While it was still flying towards him, it had slowed down a little, and it had also bent it's two massive wings backwards so that they were parallel to the direction of the gundam itself.

"If you're going to go easy on me then I'll put you in your grave!" Shinn warned, the pair of mobile suits coming at it for another round again. However, just as the Force Impulse closed in on the enemy, Shinn noticed something weird take place on the black gundam. It's eyes turned from pure white to a purple color, the dark purple, zig-zag part of it's v-fin folded in to form what looked to be a 'chain of diamonds', shape wise, and it's movements seemed to tighten up, as if the person inside of it seemed to have just bumped up their skill level somewhat. When the two machines came close together, Shinn tried to perform a sideways swipe from right to left with his right arm and an uppercut attack from the outer diagonal with his left, however the black gundam had a trick up it's sleeve. Faking it's attack, the opposing machine backed off slightly and stuck it's left hand out, the beam shield striking and blocking the Impulse's right beam saber, while it raised it's beam naginata out and began to twist it's hand around at an incredible RPM before quickly lowering it down, and in the heat of confusion, cut off the Impulse's left hand in the time it takes to snap one's fingers. "What the... holy shit..." Shinn's eyes grew with horror as the Impulse thrust backwards to avoid the aggressive ORB machine, still unharmed from the combat while Shinn's machine had lost a limb, and was now more than ever, on the defensive.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Shinn! He's in trouble!" Arthur alerted from the ship's bridge as the battle took place around it. However, all that was heard from the vessel's Captain was a low growl and the audible shock waves created when one slams their tightly closed fist into an armrest.

* * *

"Dammit! This guy... he's tough!" The one-armed Impulse backed off while the encroaching 'Black Freedom' swung it's beam nagniata at the white machine, trying to knock away it's beam saber, or cut off it's arm. "What's he trying to pull anyway? Grr...!" Shinn growled, noticing an opening in his opponent's defenses. "Told you that was no CQC machine!" He yelped while thrusting his remaining beam saber forward, the darker, glowing machine backing a bit and kicking upwards with it's left leg, striking the Impulse's right hand and knocking the beam saber away and then quickly closing in with it's left hand and grabbing the Impulse's arm.

"Now... damn..." Shinn growled while his enemy opened fire with CIWS mounted on the side of it's head, the bullets hitting home on the Impulse's array of head-mounted cameras, knocking out Shinn's vision as the Zaft pilot felt the enemy let go of his arm. Taking advantage of this, Shinn tried to run away with his controls while his suit switched over to it's auxiliary cameras, however once he regained sight, he looked at the enemy machine, which was right next to him. It had stored both of it's beam sabers back away and was hurdling itself onto the Impulse, restraining it's right arm again and outright overpowering it before heading back to ORB's main island. "What the hell are you doing? Who the hell are you? Bastard!" Shinn yelled from his seat.

In the meantime the 'Black Freedom' pulled back to the area where the Zaft machines were facing trouble from the ORB forces, and as it did, Shinn noticed what the sparkle of bright, reflected light that had caused him an eyesore earlier actually was: Another gundam, and it was holding the lines proudly.

The main body of this machine seemed to resemble the one that Shinn had been bested by in a number of ways, specifically looking at the legs, although they were different. However this suit had different foot guards, shorter skirt armors, slightly smaller shoulders, a different head with one v-fin going out from the forehead and a pair of antenna coming out from the ears, white eyes, an ORB insignia on it's right shoulder and '01' on its left, a beam rifle on one skirt, a beam saber on the other, one shield on each hand that was projecting three green 'fang-like' beams as well as beam cannons, and what appeared to be a giant disk on it's back in the shape of a hollow sun with several metal bits which seemed to resemble solar flares. To top it all off, the armor of this gundam looked to be made out of gold, which was why it reflected the light so well, even at a great distance.

As the submitted ZGMF-X56S Impulse helplessly remained captured by the gundam which Shinn had dubbed the 'Black Freedom', this golden machine ceased to fire upon the Zaft forces and closed in on them both, looking down at the Impulse before locking it's white gaze upon that of the darker machine, the two mobile suits nodding. After that, the gold machine looked back at the Impulse and unleashed a flurry of bullets from it's head at the Impulse's legs and remaining arm, Shinn watching as his power gauge started to deplete more rapidly until it was substantially lower. To top it off, after that Shinn felt himself tugged away while his capturerer descended down onto the main island, headed towards the main volcano of the ORB Union.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"He's been overpowered! Shinn's been captured!" Executive Officer Arthur Trine nearly burst from his chair.

"My goodness... what the hell happened? Shinn? And where are they taking him?" Talia inquired as the feed from the Impulse was cut. "Dammit!" She swore, the problem about to get even worse.

"Captain..." Abbey alerted. "We're about the have an unauthorized launch! That girl... she's going to take off in the Gaia!"

"What did you say?" Talia almost screened, noticing the Minerva's port side hanger bay door open up. "How the hell did that happen? What were those guys down at engineering think they were doing letting her do that? Get the chief online right now!" She demanded, the Gaia seeming to take off from it's mobile suit form and transform before powering off into the distance, its wings bend down, having had activated their MR-Q17X "Griffon 2" Beam Blades.

"Right on it!" Abbey said frantically before a line opened between the hanger bay and bridge Captain Gladys turning towards her Chief Engineer with crossed arms. The man in question seemed to have just suffered from a bump on the head, and in the background several other engineers were on the ground, some of them looking to have been knocked out.

"Ma'am..." He huffed. "She just... she just snuck up on us and like... that... it was all over. I don't think she hurt anyone, but that girl is tough. We couldn't do anything to stop her once she got in the Gaia's cockpit, and she knocked out the crew member who I sent to alert the bridge." The Chief Engineer reported.

"Is anyone dead? Is anyone seriously hurt?" She asked. 'This is the last thing that needs to happen in an operation like this...' Talia thought.

"No, she made sure not to kill anyone. However several of my men have been knocked out cold and in need of medical aid." The Chief stated as Talia turned to Abbey and snapped her fingers with haste.

"On it... medical crew to the hanger deck immediately. I repeat: Medical crew to hanger deck." Abbey announced to the entire vessel.

"Don't worry, we'll get the injured safe... did she say anything while when she was in there?" Talia asked.

"She said that she had to go and save Shinn... that's about it. Save... Shinn..." The engineer huffed as Talia shook her head.

"Alright... set yourself straight and get better... that's an order." Talia commanded, the line being cut a few seconds after.

"She went to 'save Shinn'?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what she intends to do... and I don't know what'll happen to her, considering how easily Shinn was overpowered... this doesn't make much sense to me..." Talia shook her head.

"Archangel incoming from seven o'clock. Distance: Thirty five..." Bart informed as Talia narrowed her eyelids.

"Not now..." She mumbled.

* * *

Unknown location in the ORB Union:

In what appeared to be a hidden hanger bay, the large, black and winged gundam with an icy blue internal frame set the Force Impulse down on an area of bare ground before coming to a standing rest near it, the phase shift armor of the Impulse fading to several shades of a dull gray, while several armed ORB soldiers closed in on it.

"Shinn Asuka, open your cockpit." A monotone, computerized voice spoke from the black gundam as Shinn looked up from his seat at it, it's hand pointed forward. "I won't say that again." The voice demanded as the red eyed soldier took off his helmet and unbuckled himself before opening his suits hatch and climbing out of it, standing on his machine with his hands up in the air while several soldiers aimed their rifles at him.

"What the hell do you want?" Shinn screamed at the black machine, several large drops of sweat, sweat of anxiety and nervousness, coupled with anger, rolling down his face and heating up his body. The fact that he was wearing a flight suit wasn't helping either.

"Get off of your machine's body and stand on the floor with your hands up." The voice demanded again, to which Shinn smirked with anger and obliged, making his way off of the Impulse and standing in front of the large, black and winged mobile suit. Now that Shinn had a chance to look at this mech up closer and not focused on combat, he observed something else about it: It was larger than a normal machine, in the ballpark of about twenty five meters tall from what he could guess.

"Okay now what?" He barked, a door on the right side of the gundam's front opening up as a figure, wearing a black and blue ORB pilot's suit came out of the suit's torso and grabbed onto a wire meant for descending downwards, and then slowly made his way to the floor and walked forward, the soldiers still pointing their guns at Shinn.

"It's alright now. Lower you weapons." The figure stated, raising it's left hand and palm. However, as it approached Shinn, he realized something.

'I know that voice...' Shinn thought as the suited figure reached for it's head and took of it's helmet, revealed the ruffled brown hair, slightly tanned skin, purple SEED mode eyes, and, only recently, scarred face that belonged to the Ultimate Coordinator; to Kira Yamato...

_**-To Be Continued-**_


	9. Phase 38: Turning Point

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Addressing Reviews:

dragon shinobi: Yep, another plot twist. Somebody, not you, stated that he thought there was more to the Shinn vs. Kira fight then I had originally planned, especially considering how the next Phase jumped several days over to Gibraltar, with Shinn, Rey, and Athrun. They were right.

Arthogawa: Honestly, the very funny thing about SEED is that, although I've stated that I personally thought that Durandal was the good guy at the end, when I watch the scenes about Djibril and Logos talking, some of the things they say actually make sense to me. **No,** I am not talking about when whole genocide issue, but there are other things about Djibril which do make me raise an eyebrow. He seemed to be somewhat of a man with a bitter, but very true sense of reality in my book. That being said, in the end he ended up being simply an 'evil for the sake of evil so that the good guys have a target' character... this fic, not so much.

Yeah, even Athrun would bash Yuna, and good on him, for I think anyone would. Damned brat. I liked writing the scenes where he bashed him and Colonel Soiga decked him. And I knew you guys would like it too =D

I don't know how much character Abbey will get, but it's better than cannon. After all, we do need to get some crew interactions in a while.

Even though I like Kira and even though you'll be agreeing with me once you see how I pull off what happened, I don't think that he should get another 'survive Scot-free Jesus Yamato' moment. Yes, he lived, but he suffered.

Fireminer:

First of all... Philosophy not Phylosophy XD. But yeah, that pretty much that's what happens when you cut out a lot of the BS in the GSD plot, you get more battles. Granted, Operation Justice is going to go on for... let me check my planning document... until the end of Phase 40, and I mean the very end, not just the middle of it. Granted, that's assuming my writing works out in the same way as I want the planning to. 'Black Freedom' refers to a nickname, I'm sure you all know of the gundam's true name now.

**On another note: **I am uncertain of how long this fic may be. Whether it will be 50 chapters or more... I've no idea at this point in time. Looking back at Plot A the end chapters got ridiculous because I wanted to fit everything within 50 Chapters... now I don't know if that'll happen here.

* * *

_Now, on with the show:_

The mighty red and while Archangel hovered in the back of the Zaft attack fleet, inching forward at a low, casual speed while keeping close to the water's surface. To the ship's starboard side, the darker and smaller Minerva rest in the waters outside of the ORB Union with her wings folded in and tucked into her body.

"Meh..." Admiral Kendan Westenfluss snorted as he looked to his right out of the ship, turning his head towards the bow and observing the many explosions taking place near the shores of ORB, and where the Zaft and ORB vessels were battling one another. "What's the flagship again? The Saint Helens?" He scratched the left side of his skull.

"Yes sir. She's in the rear. Distance five at o'clock. Depth, forty meters." Meyrin Hawke reported, audibly nervous as she did.

"I don't need to know the details! Open a channel. I want to speak to her Captain." Kendan barked, while Meyrin muttered a very silent and hard to hear affirmative response, one of the Archangel's view screens flashing to life, the image of a dark submarine's bridge contrasting with all the light permeating the Archangel's.

"Sorry we were late but when you're coming from Heaven's Base it can't be helped. Still, gave us a chance to make sure everything is in perfect condition, hehe." Kendan chuckled. "What's our status? Have they folded over like a sick dog yet?"

"They were holding steady against us until a few moments ago. From what's been reported it from the front, they deployed a couple new models that were giving our men a lot of trouble, but one of them has managed to disappear. Now we're pushing them back, bit by bit."

"Alright, fine then. Good job up to this point. Uh, is that it?" Kendan questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"No sir, there's something I want you to know." The Saint Helen's Captain spoke.

"Oh, and what's that?"  
"Couple minutes ago I ordered the Minerva to deploy it's main mobile suit, the Impulse, onto the battlefield, and in less then seven minutes after that machine sortied all contact with it was lost. Considering the record of the boy piloting it, I can safely say that ORB has a few tricks up their sleeves." He explained as Kendan cocked his right eyebrow.

'What? Shinn?' Meyrin almost gasped.

'Brat had it coming...' The Admiral mentally smirked. "Alright then, I'll keep that in mind, thank you." He answered, saluting his fellow comrade as the line was cut. "Ian, there's no need for us to stay up here much longer."

"Captain?" Helmsman Ian Fran questioned.

"Water landing. Decrease engine output to a low cruising speed and maintain course." Kendan ordered.

"Sir!" Ian answered, carefully pulling back on the Archangel's throttle as the blue thrust from the ship's six main thermonuclear engines decreased in intensity as the vessel lowered itself onto the water and submerged somewhat.

"Captain, shall we deploy our mobile suits then?" Executive Officer Dubu inquired from the large CIC area below?"

"No, not yet. Not until ORB really shows us what they have. Then and only then will our pilots launch. If they're restless tell them that, alright?" Kendan ordered. 'I guess that since she was ordered to send him that far out, I can't really peg the blame on Gladys as much as I would wish to... keh. Well them, we'll just wait and see what they have up their sleeves then.'

* * *

Back in the hidden hanger bay:

On one side, there was a group of about five ORB soldiers, all armed with standard rifles and wearing proper equipment. However they had their weapons down and in no position to shoot at anyone, not unless ordered to do so.

On another side, there was Shinn and the ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse gundam, the machine itself deactivated, damaged, and completely unfit for battle. The same however could not be said for the pilot as he stood there in the dark chamber, his red helmet in hand and red suit over top of his body, while his raven locks rested atop his forehead and his eyes, cold, sharp, and ready to strike, glared at the person directly in front of him.

Finally, there was the third person in this triangle of figures, Kira Yamato, standing in front of Shinn, holding his helmet in almost an identical fashion and wearing a dark blue and black ORB flight suit to boot. However, the usual kind look that the Ultimate Coordinator kept was not present here, instead his facial expression; his purple SEED mode eyes, the eyelids that guarded them, his lip shape and general vibe seemed to reflect Shinn's, although only in Kira's own way, and for good reason. There was one thing different about Kira though, and anyone who looked at him could see it very clearly. Running up his face diagonally, was a scar, one on-par with the one he himself had given Yzak Joule in the first war, although in a different location. It begun just above his right lip and ran up that side of his face, under the bottom of his right eyelid, and while it was somewhat jagged, it seemed to be making it's way towards the top of his right ear, although it disappeared and ended somewhere behind the longer than normal brown locks coming from the side of Kira's head in front of his ears.

As the two Ace mobile suit pilots stood there facing each other, a deep, bitter feeling overtook the area of the hanger bay, an acidity that would leave the room once one of them decided to finally speak up.

"Kira... Yamato..." Shinn said lightly, although the sound waves from his voice had enough volume to reach the others ears. "After all this time... after all that I had thought... we meet again, and after..." Shinn clenched his fists somewhat and tilted his head to right right. "And after..." He grunted.

"A difficult battle to boot?" Kira questioned, blinking once but still maintaining that focused, dull and death dealing condition in his amethyst irises. "I'm sorry if what I did 'offended you'..." He tried to start as Shinn stuck his right hand up, the armed soldiers flinching a little, an action that Kira noticed. "Leave us, it's fine now." He addressed them, while they silently saluted him and walked off right afterwords, while Kira took a step closer to Shinn.

"I don't believe it, after... all this time, after what I've done and later heard, that you are standing before me..." Shinn turned back and locked eyes with Kira for a second before raising his head and staring up onto the larger than normal gundam he had dubbed the 'Black Freedom'. "And you were piloting that machine to boot..." He commented, the winged machine's phase shift still activated, although the eyes and v-fin had now transformed back into the configuration they were in when Shinn first saw it.

"That machine..." Kira turned around and looked at it. "For the record, it's name is the Veneficus. Rather, the ORB-02 Veneficus... and it is one hell of an enigma itself, I'll say that." Kira stated as he turned back to Shinn. "Although I can tell you about all of that later then... after..." Kira tried to speak as Shinn stepped forward.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO OUT THERE? And why did you do it? You practically disarmed the Impulse bit by bit,... heck you disarmed the left hand literally! Then you captured me! Why? And how are you here right now?" Shinn demanded angrily, a slight growl coming out of his mouth as he did.

"Shinn! Did you think I could just let you go about in the Impulse and make your way through the lines? Our lines? You're out of the league of most, if not all of the soldiers out there and I know that for a fact!" Kira shouted, quickly raising his right hand and pointing at the mark on the side of his face. "I am a soldier of the ORB Union, and I have an obligation to defend said Union! Even against people like you! However, I decided to capture you rather than end you right there, even though I could have easily done so!"

"I'm a soldier of Zaft! The enemy! Why then? Why didn't you...!" Shinn began, trying to spit out words when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he found his jaw wide upon and the image of a certain blonde Extended rushing through his mind.

_"I understand... then... come back to me, alright?" _Stella's voice echoed.

"... kill me...?" Shinn's voice 'fell' in a sense.

'The same reason why Athrun Zala is still alive... although there's more to your story that you'll find out...' Kira thought to himself, taking a step back to give Shinn some space before breathing in. "I have... my reasons, why, would you prefer to be dead?" Kira questioned.

"What? HECK NO!" Shinn stomped as Kira gave off a slight, subtle smile. "It isn't a laughing manner either! If Zaft finds out that I was caught by the enemy and was 'consorting' with them, which I'm sure several of the brass would try to twist the situation to if they found out about this conversation... then...!"

"What Zaft doesn't know won't hurt them. And besides, whether I killed you or disabled you, one way or another you can't face off against ORB's soldiers in the Impulse, so you're out of action. There, Zaft just lost one of it's best in a fight against us."

"I can see your logic, smart ass..." Shinn grumbled, crossing his arms. "How the hell are you still alive anyway? One of our best Admirals now has control over the Archangel right now so what happened to you and the rest of the ORB fleet between that fateful day and now? **What happened to Cagalli?**" Shinn asked, to which Kira sighed, lowered his head and seemed to be in a position where he was holding back tears, tears of regret, agony, pain and suffering. "Well?" Shinn stomped again.

"Just... come with me. If you want to know... come with me and we'll talk about it. As far as Zaft knows you're either captured or dead anyway..." Kira responded humbly, stepping away and walking towards one of the walls of the hanger bay, indicating for Shinn to follow, which he did.

"I guess I've got no choice in the matter anyhow..." Shinn snarled as he followed right behind Kira, the both of them seeming to lose some of the stress they had built up. "Was Cagalli the one in that... uh..."

"That gold machine? Yes, she was the one piloting the Sovereign... she's capable of holding her own out there, don't worry." Kira informed.

"The Sovereign? ORB-01... Sovereign" Shinn muttered under his breath, putting two and two together.

* * *

"Shinn? Shinn? SHINN? Where are you!?" Stella screamed frantically, the ZGMF-X88S Gaia gundam galloping through the air in it's mobile armor mode, the intense purple mono-eye on the head of the machine angling back and forth between both sides of the head as Stella looked around, her eyes peeled while she tried to spot the all too familiar Force Impulse gundam, approaching the battlefield as she did. She had already managed to swerve and avoid most of the Zaft mobile suits that were deployed at this point in time. Not that it mattered, since she had left so quickly and therefore most of the Zaft machines weren't aware of what had happened. Right now, she was only wearing the green Zaft Uniform that Shinn had given her, but that would have to do. After all, she was a smart girl when it came to mobile suits and knew that you didn't need a normal suit to use a seat belt, and unlike space, there was air on Earth. "SHINN COME BACK!" She yelled again, the Gaia's console beeping as a green beam shot approached the mobile armor.

"Attack me?" She rolled to her right and effortlessly dodged the attack, looking on to find two Murasames and a Rotor Shrike Astray coming right after her, armed and ready to rumble. "How dare you! I just want to get Shinn back!" The Gaia's mono-eye flashed brighter, if only for a second as the suit quickly flipped into mobile suit mode and backed up a little in the air, raising it's black shield to block a beam rifle strike and returning fire with it's own MA-BAR71XE High-energy Beam Rifle and targeting the lead Murasame, the suit blocking with it's own shield as the other two suits spread out and aimed their beam rifles at the Gaia. "Just go away!" She raged, ascending upwards and spinning to her left, shooting downwards with the Gaia's beam rifle and scoring a hit on the Astray's right rotor, causing the suit to lose it's ability to fly while the center Murasame hastily switched into Waverider mode and dived towards him in an attempt to save his friend.

"Alright, not what I wanted but it'll have to do." Stella grit her teeth while the remaining Murasame had stored it's beam rifle back and was now charging for her head on with it's one beam brandished in it's right arm. "Now for you then!" Stella growled, storing her own beam rifle and preparing for melee combat, two pink beams coming from separate suits colliding as Stella and the Murasame pilot clashed blades and locked themselves in melee combat, spinning around in circles by the force of their clash before breaking off. "AHHH!" She screamed, performing a quick u-turn and coming back, only to find that her foe had transformed into it's flight mode, and surprisingly, wasn't coming after her. Something else, however, was. "Damn... bright!" The Extended complained, noticing a sparkle of light heading right for her, her sensors going off once more as it fired not one, but a pair of normal beam shots at her, although these rounds seemed to purposefully miss the Gaia itself, flying right over the suit's head. "Who are you playing games?" She growled, switching back into mobile armor mode and rushing forward at the light ahead, although before long she realized just what it was.

'Gundam?' She thought, observing the gold, backpacked machine closing it's distance on her. Indeed, the suit she was facing was the other one that Shinn himself had encountered earlier, although Stella didn't know that, nor did she know who was piloting it. "WHERE IS HE? TELL ME!" Stella demanded, activating her two MR-Q17X "Griffon 2" Beam Blades, while the golden machine raised it's right arm, the large shield on it channeling three fang-shaped light green beam effects, and then swinging down for the block when the two machines passed by each other, sparks of lightning flashing around them as the beams clashed. "Alright, meanie!" Stella ramped up her speed and prepared for another go, but then she heard a voice.

"Stella! Stella! Is that you?" The familiar, feminine voice of Cagalli Yula Attha filled the Gaia's cockpit, causing the Extended girl to loosen her grip on the hand controls a little bit, while still pushing on forward. "Stella, stop this!"

"Cagalli? Is that..." The two machines clashed blades again although only because of Stella's inability to stop moving due to shock, and Cagalli's need to defend herself. "... you? Ugh..." She felt thrown back as the golden mobile suit knocked the Gaia back and then raised it's left shield, firing two beam shots from the cannons on it onto the Gaia and tearing two holes in it's right wing, the section exploding and sending the black gundam off balance.

"Yes it's me! Stella, you're alright! Wow, am I relieved!" Cagalli said, seeming to almost cry tears of joy as she said that, the Sovereign approaching the falling Gaia as the battery powered machine stabilized itself in the air and switched forms.

"Cagalli? Cagalli's alright?" Stella cheered, a tear falling from her right eye as she looked onto the larger, shinier machine with a smile, before quickly removing that expression and raising her shield and beam rifle. "Where's Shinn? Tell me!" She threatened with anger.

"Shinn? Shinn is..." The voice of Cagalli started, while Stella quickly fired a shot directly at the Sovereign's head, the beam striking it directly and then bouncing back, only to pierce the Gaia's beam rifle and force Stella to throw it off before it exploded. "Stella! Stop it!"

"Where is Shinn? He went missing! And I want to know what happened! You better not have hurt him, Cagalli!" Stella pouted.

"No..." The voice seemed to laugh a tad as it replied. "Shinn's fine! He's alright, trust me. Do you want to know where he is?"

"Yes! Now! Right now!" Stella demanded.

"Then follow me, Stella. Trust me..." Cagalli's voice gently ordered, it's golden head nodding toward the Gaia as it descended down to the ground and further inwards, away from the battlefield while the Gaia followed.

"Fine then. But Cagalli better not be lying!"

* * *

Archangel Pilot's Room:

"What? They're not sending us out yet? Why?" Lunamaria complained, shaking her fists like she was ready to punch someone.

"Really? This doesn't make any sense! Not with Djibril over there! What is the Admiral thinking? Is this really what he wants?" Athrun followed up, while Rey stood tall off to the side and gave off a soft sigh.

"I don't know what the Admiral's plans are, but I doubt that it isn't something that doesn't make logical sense." Rey commented, while Heine messed around with a communications device for a few seconds and then turned around, closing the distance between himself and his comrades.

"Alright here's the deal. According to my father, the Impulse was deployed earlier to the front lines, and surprisingly, was either captured or destroyed. Right now we're not too sure." Heine explained, causing Athrun and Lunamaria to gasp, while Rey raised an eyebrow in controlled interest.

"Shinn? Captured? KILLED? How?" Luna questioned.

"Apparently ORB deployed a few new models and he was sent out to deal with them, although apparently... they dealt with him." Heine stated grimly, pausing for a second. "What's worse is... remember that girl who was with Shinn? She managed to beat up some of the Minerva's engineers and hijack the Gaia... and now they've lost both of their machines."

"Dammit! Just what we need in an operation like this." Athrun growled.

"My god it's all her fault!" Lunamaria barked, shaking her head. "Shinn... and that girl... well I guess she would have decided to follow him around, but do something like that? Why couldn't he put a leash on her? Metaphorically speaking of course!" She gulped.

"Why was she even on the Minerva anyway? Shouldn't she have been in a medical institute?" Athrun asked.

"The Chairman has his reasons, Athrun." Rey stated, causing Athrun to quickly turn his head towards the blonde.

"I'm sure he does, but that doesn't excuse what happened! Now we've lost that machine... twice!" The Red Knight ranted.

"What's worse is that the new machine they've deployed, well at least one of them, seems to resemble the old Freedom from the first war in many ways. Apparently one BABI pilot who was lucky enough not to get shot down said that it was darker and more powerful then the original... however the new machines they fielded have retreated for now, for whatever reason, that's why my father doesn't want us to launch yet." Heine explained.

"Wait until they play their hand to the fullest? Understandable." Rey nodded.

"Or, knowing my father, until he gets impatient. I guess we'll have to see though." Heine added.

"So if they retreated after then perhaps Shinn wasn't killed... but more likely captured. After all, this is ORB we're talking about... and if one of their new models looks like the Freedom... hmm..." Athrun hummed.

"Well... if he's alive then that's good news... but if we get him back something must be done about that Stella girl!" Luna gruffed.

"Athrun, what were you talking about? Why do you think he was captured?" Rey stepped a little closer and asked.

"This is ORB we're talking about, Rey. Remember that." Athrun faced his blonde haired comrade. "If they captured the Impulse then there's a chance they intend to steal it's technology, like the Flyer and Silhouette technology. I know, after living there for two years and having an occasional talk with some of the Morganroate guys that while their tech may be advanced, it usually finds it's roots in Zaft or Earth Alliance hardware, _frequently_, but not always." Athrun explained.

"Makes sense, and if that machine really does look like the Freedom, it's probably for symbolic purposes. After all, that machine did make quiet the reputation last war." Heine added.

'Kira... is he piloting it? No... can't be... I doubt that Shinn managed to get him and even then the Alliance... they would have done him in... the bastards...' Athrun thought.

"Well, with that in mind, I think it's best if we just wait until we're called. Try to get some more information on the suits they have launched." Rey commanded as the other three nodded.

* * *

Hidden hanger bay:

The Sovereign and Gaia gently landed in the hanger bay a couple of meters away from the other machines so as to give them space, their metal phase shifted feet gracefully touching the ground with a thud as they did. It wasn't too long after that the cockpits of both suits opened and their pilots came out only to lower themselves to the ground, however if it was a race to the bottom, Stella would have won by a country mile, as she practically jumped onto the cable and then leaped off of it when it approached the floor, rushing over to the damaged, gray Force Impulse.

"Stella... hold up!" Cagalli warned as she continued to the bottom, slowly unhooked her leg from the wire and then running towards the other blonde girl.

"Shinn? SHINN!" Stella questioned, examining the Impulse's cockpit, only then hearing Cagalli's voice and turning around to face her in person. "Ca... Cagalli? SO IT IS YOU!" Stella cheered, running over and giving Cagalli a light yet meaningful hug, only to back off for a second. "Phew... I thought for a second..." Stella looked into Cagalli's smiling eyes. "Whatever..." She responded, about to speak some more when she noticed something behind Cagalli.

"Stella, if you want to know where Shinn is... come with me..." Cagalli stated, the Extended nodding her head but pointing over Cagalli's shoulder at the same time.

"What's... what's that...?" She directed the Lioness' attention towards the towering, dark, Veneficus as it stood on the ground before them. "Another gundam? Like yours?"

"That's..." The two began to walk towards the same wall of the hanger where Kira and Shinn had gone earlier. "That's... Kira's machine." Cagalli cracked a smile and faced the Extended, who seemed to be completely overcome with shock.

"Kira's! Kira's? But I thought... I thought... he died? What happened to Kira..." Stella grabbed her head and shook it. "I'm... so confused right now. What happened? Shinn told me... before the battle, that he wanted to kill Kira for what happened." And with that, Cagalli gave off a deep frown. "But then after the battle... Shinn was the one who came back, and he told me that everything was alright and not to worry..." Cagalli's frown faded by a small hint. "But all the Zaft soldiers... I heard them... they were bragging and talking about how Shinn had killed Kira, and then they talked about how the Archangel was taken by the Earth Alliance... ooh, I'm so confused right now it isn't funny... I didn't think Cagalli or Kira were alive... but they are?"

"Yes, Stella. We lived through it all, don't worry. My brother and I, we're tougher then that." Cagalli turned her frown upside down. "I think it's better if I told you about all this inside. I think you want to see Kira... and Shinn now, don't you?"

"Yes, I do... I definitely do." Stella agreed as the two continued their walk.

'I do? Not Stella does? Has she changed?' Cagalli thought to herself as the two entered a door in the wall and walked through it.

* * *

A room overlooking the hanger bay, a minute later:

An automatic metal door eased open, revealing the pair of blonde females to the chamber on the other side. It looked to a small a moderately sized room. Off to the left side there were a few control panels and monitors, and to the right there was a couple chairs and a table. Running all along the other side of the room was a massive window that looked onto the chamber below as the mobile suits rested in it.

"Stella? You're here?" The voice of Shinn Asuka called out from the group of chairs as the raven haired pilot looked at the two girls, the Extended making her way into the middle of the room before gazing upon him, and the man who was seated near him.

"Shinn... and Kira?" Stella questioned, looking at the both of them, a couple of tears coming from her eyes as she did. "You're both here... that's good." She smiled as Kira gave a silent head nod and sealed his eyes for a few seconds. "But wait? What's that?" Stella began to walk forward towards Kira and bend down, pointing towards the mark on the side of his face and gasping. "What... happened?" She asked as he lowered his head slightly and sighed, the Extended turning to face Shinn. "Was it... you? Did you do that?"

"Yes..." Shinn whispered in response, Stella's eyes too focused on him, only to be surprised when Kira stuck up his right hand and gently wrapped his fingers around her forearm.

"Stella... it's fine. What's done is done." Kira humbled, standing up out of the chair as Cagalli closed in. "You can blame Shinn, but, for my sake, don't hate him." He looked down onto the blonde Extended, who in return looked up to him. Their eyes locked and for a split second it seemed as if Kira's head was slowly inching towards Stella's, only to bear startled eyes when she pulled away and broke his grip on her hand. "Stella..."

"It's alright..." Cagalli stated as the younger girl backed into her, while Shinn himself got up and put one right foot forward.

"Kira... Cagalli... I've heard so much... just... tell me, what happened after Shinn took me aboard the Minerva and I lost you two? What... happened?" Stella whimpered, while the three other teens kept a silence among themselves. "Because... Shinn... fought Kira..." Shinn clenched his right fist lightly as he groaned slightly, holding back liquid from one of his tear ducts. "And... so many contradictions... it makes my head spin... now make it stop!" Stella cried lightly, moving back and away from Cagalli as Kira walked over to Shinn and Cagalli.

"Stella... it's true, I fought Shinn... before. Shortly after you were taken from us."

"But... they said... and now... you're standing? What happened?" Stella freaked as Shinn put his left hand on Kira's right shoulder.

"I think it's best if we just recall the last moments of our battle, where it all went down, where all the confusion rests." Shinn stated lightly to the slightly taller figure, who then shook his head in return.

"I think so too." Kira responded, clearing his throat, and then facing Stella dead on. "Stella, this is what happened... this is the truth. It's dark, and it's grim. But if you're confused and lost, I think it'll help you find the light..." Kira breathed in, and then began to speak.

* * *

-Flashback-

"_****__**RAAAAAARRRRGGGGG!" **_Shinn charged forward full speed with the Sword Impulse, his remaining Excalibur in hand, aligned right for the cockpit of the one-armed Strike Noir, which had it's left arm off to the side helplessly.

"_****__**NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **_Kira screamed in reaction to this, his SEED mode eyes wide in despair as he saw the Impulse charge forward. 'This isn't the end... not... now...' Thoughts quickly raced through Kira's head as sweat dropped from his brunette brow, tears fell from his eyes, and blood leaked from his lip at a slow rate. However, as the Impulse raced on, Kira's eyes narrowed, his gloved hands reaching manipulating the Strike Noir's controls, the black left arm of the suit reaching for the one remaining beam pistol at it's side, and automatically picking up that weapon from it's skirt armor. Then, the Noir quickly raised said beam pistol and pointed it forward, although off to the side and pulled the trigger, twice, and a split second before the Sword Impulse's anti-ship sword reached the Noir's chest, the blade was impacted by two green beam shots, right dead on and center, snapping it in half, shutting down it's beam and forcing the forward end to be diverted off course.

At the same time Shinn was completely and utterly surprised, his mouth touching the bottom of his helmet and his eyes wide with doubt and unbelievability as he watched the lead half of the blade fly off into the distance while the blunt back half slammed directly into the Strike Noir's chest, the phase shift armor reacting to the physical blow and blocking it as the two machine were pushed back and away from the Tannhauser's shock wave. At first the backside of the Noir smashed into the bottom of one of the mountains and could not go any further back, causing the rest of the Excalibur's blade to shatter and bend away as the red and white gundam followed forward and outright smashed into the Noir's body, almost locking the two suits in place.

"Ugh... AHHHHH!" Kira screamed in utter pain and agony as he hit the wall and a few more drops of his red, type A blood gushed from his lips, while some of the Noir's control panels seemed to spark to life, but not in a good way. Electricity shot out from the console and went wild throughout the cockpit as it came to a stop, burning a few marks onto Kira's suit and breaking the glass of his helmet, making its way through to damage the right side of his face, forcing him to throw off his helmet and try to shield the burning areas, groaning in great pain and agony as he did.

"BAH... huh... huh... huh..." Shinn coughed, heavily and frantically, having had felt the full frontal force of the impact while the restraints that held him in his seat tried to bite into his uniform and flesh due to the sudden momentum change. "What... what the hell... happened..." He took off his red helmet and shook his head free, the black locks of his hair waving around as he closed his eyes for a second, opening them to look onto the screen in front of him, and witnessing something that he did not want to see.

While the Noir had been beaten, bruised and damaged, and while rain poured down from the sky onto both machines, the suit itself was for the most part intact, at least in the chest section. However the phase shift of Kira's suit was no longer active, as indicated by the dull, and ironically, lighter color scheme the Strike Noir was subject to. Noticing this, Shinn looked onto the Impulse's power gauge, to see just what was left.

'I've still got some left until the armor runs out... granted I didn't use that many rifle shots, wasn't out for as long, and switched equipment a couple of times...' He thought to himself for a second until shaking his head angrily and growling as he unbuckled himself. 'Whatever, doesn't matter...' He searched around for a compartment in the Core Splendor, eventually pulling out a cold, gunmetal black handgun from the mobile suit equivalent of a glove box and then got up onto his two feet, taping the button that would open the Impulse's door open and rushing out of the mobile suit, into the pouring, torrential rain caused by the Tannhauser. At first Shinn had to struggle in order to even get off of the Impulse and onto the Noir, but after a few seconds he found his way, right in front of the cockpit of his enemy's mobile suit. "Dammit... open up!" He screamed, searching for the strong, hidden button that he knew was somewhere near the cockpit and eventually finding it and pushing it open.

"Bastard!" He immediately shoved his rifle forward, as if to shoot directly at the pilot's headrest first thing, but then noticed something: Kira wasn't in any position to fight, and neither was the Strike Noir, for her consoles were mangled and the Ultimate Coordinator himself, although he had released his restraints, he was lying on the side of his seat, groaning and moaning with his right hand on the side of his head, his suit chared in several places along the legs and torso. "You get the hell out of there... I'm going to finish this!" Shinn yelled at the top of his lungs, rushing into the Noir's cockpit and taking Kira by the left arm, dragging him out of his cockpit with both hands. 'He's not putting up much of a fight... and he's hurt... I guess then he'll be relieved when I finish the job!' Shinn thought, grinning as he tried to rip Kira out, the older pilot completely unable to put up any sort of resistance of even understand what was happening to him.

'Stop... stop...' A voice echoed in Shinn's head, although the red eyed teen ignored it completely.

'Still, his cockpit is worse for wear... what happened? I guess the sheer force of the impact managed to completely drain all his remaining energy, and yet despite that it still damaged the suit's controls, which is why he's pathetically crying right now!' Shinn finished dragging Kira out of the cockpit of the laying down Strike Noir and the tried to pick him up and jump off of the torso of the suit onto the ground below, which luckily for him, was not completely rocky. Managing to do so, Shinn then let Kira go and allowed him to fall onto the ground as if he had rid himself of an object beyond disgust.

'Ahhh...' The voice, which sounded a hell of a lot like Kira's, spoke once more inside Shinn's head as he focused his crimson SEED mode eyes onto the helpless Kira and pointed the pistol directly at him, aiming for the head for point-blank shot. 'No... don't...'

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT EVEN OPENING YOUR MOUTH AND I CAN HEAR YOU WHINE! PATHETIC! UTTERLY PATHETIC! NOW QUIET!" Shinn raised the gun upwards and fired three shots into the rain as mist surrounded them, the bullets blazing up into the damp sky. "Now..." Shinn breathed in heavily. "Now I am going to end this... I'm going..." A tear of anger and sorrow rolled out of Shinn's right eye as he aimed the gun at Kira again. "... to kill you! Mother... father... Mayu... this is..." He pulled back slightly on the trigger. "For you..." He pulled back a little more, only a few millimeters standing between his finger and Kira's grave as Shinn tightened his eyelids decisively, the voice in his head begging him to stop this right now...

"_**Don't you dare! Drop the gun! DROP IT NOW!"**_ Another voice, one belonging to a women, yelled right towards Shinn as he slowly turned around, to his left, and looked upon Cagalli Yula Attha as she held her own handgun in two hands, pointed right at him, her golden blonde hair completely soaked in water and her hazel eyes sharp and in SEED mode too. "_**I said... DROP IT NOW!" **_She yelled again, the weapon shaking slightly in her hands, and the Strike Rouge IWSP kneeling on the ground behind her, having had came up from the fog while Shinn wasn't looking and focused on Kira.

"Or what?" Shinn spat? "You going to shoot me at this range? Do you think you can hit me? Do you think I won't pull my own trigger in reaction at the last second?"

'Cagalli... Cagalli... is there...' Kira's 'voice' echoed through Shinn's head once more, the red eyed teen figuring it just to be his own imagination right now.

"I'll shoot you unless you throw down the gun right now, Shinn Asuka!" Cagalli yelled, blinking once as tears fell down her cheeks, her voice vocally compromised by emotions.

"NO! I won't put the gun down! However it's ironic that you're the one who's threatening me though!" Shinn said angrily.

"OH, and why is that? By all means... TELL ME!"

"I'll kill Kira... and then you'll kill me. Yet from what I heard, you're the one who spoke out against how revenge chains and people keep killing each other, and how peace can never be achieved that way." Shinn spoke, narrowing his eyes and staring directly at Cagalli, while still aiming the gun at Kira's head, ready to shoot in an instant. "Principles... ideals... they're just words to you, aren't they?"

"SHUT UP!" Cagalli shook the gun slightly and slammed her mouth shut with a 'clap' of her teeth. "Yes... I said that before... so what? You're the one killing for revenge now, aren't you? It's the only reason why you went after Kira so viciously? Isn't it, bastard!?"

"Yes..." Shinn responded in a dark tone. "What's your point?" He asked.

'Put... both of you... put the guns down...' The voice of Kira echoed in Shinn's mind again.

"Voice in my head... SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Shinn yelled once more, shaking his head side to side a bit as water drops flew off of it's damn surface.

'Kira... is he in... and does Shinn know?' Cagalli thought, moving a step closer due to Shinn's confusion, but still maintaining her grip with the gun. "My point is you're regurgitating those statements back to me, yet you're about to hypocritically act in a manner opposite to them!"

"Hypocritically? Don't make me laugh, Attha! You're the one who came up with those lines, not me. I've no reason to give a damn about what you said some time ago, especially considering what he did!" Shinn shouted with a rage and fury unlike any that he had ever given off before, yet Cagalli held her ground. "And now, you're going to kill me, after I end him, for revenge." He chuckled. "Then so be it..."

"LISTEN!" She barked back. "I know you're going to use this against me, but it doesn't matter! Kira now sits on the ground beside you..." She began to breath heavily, shaking her arm a bit more but still holding onto the gun. "And if you kill him... I will end you... I don't give a damn what I've said before about principles or ideals...they don't matter right now and _**I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MY ONLY BROTHER AND FAMILY AND THEN GET AWAY WITH IT, PERIOD!" **_The Lioness _roared_ as loud as she could, Shinn cringing a bit at the sound of her voice considering how close it was.

'Cagalli... Cagalli...' Kira thought, as Shinn snapped and turned around to face him.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP! ARE YOU EVEN TALKING? I DON'T SEE YOUR MOUTH MOVING WHEN YOU DO THAT! WHAT IS IT? SOME KIND OF TRICK?" The Impulse's pilot turned around to yell at Kira. "SO WHY DON'T YOU... damn!" Shinn groaned as Cagalli, once again and as she had done before, charged at him and knocked him to the ground, the gun he had earlier flying off out of his reach. 'Not this again...' He thought.

"YEAH, THIS **AGAIN! **Shinn! I've had it! You're just so... so... fundamentally frustrating! You know that!" Cagalli cried as she straddled Shinn while he was on the ground next to Kira, punching him twice, once with each hand, right in the cheek. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS AGAIN? WHAT DID KIRA DO?" Cagalli asked, slapping Shinn across the face with her right hand, stopping when she felt some sort of presence and turned to a weakened, injured Kira, although the two did not share verbal words. "Kira... you're the one who... killed them?" She asked as Shinn tried to push himself up and off of Cagalli. "DON'T TRY ME!" She punched him square in the forehead and knocked him back down.

"OWWW... SHIT! STOP IT, ATTHA!" Shinn yelled back.

'NO! NOT A CHANCE!' Cagalli thought, crying as she did, her tears mixing with the pouring rain, which was now getting even colder.

'How can I hear her thoughts...?' Shinn questioned as he was slapped silly by the Chief Representative of ORB once more.

'YEAH, YOU CAN! NOW STOP IT! STOP IT! LOOK AT YOURSELF!' Cagalli smacked him again. 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE OVER THIS?' She slapped him again. 'BUT APPARENTLY WE'RE NOT!' Slap. 'SO WILL IT END NOW?' Smack. 'ARE YOU FINALLY WILLING TO DROP YOUR MEANINGLESS HATRED? I THOUGHT YOU HAD MADE PROGRESS AND WEREN'T CAUGHT UP IN THIS ANYMORE, BUT APPARENTLY I'M WRONG! AREN'T I?' And two final slaps from Cagalli.

'UGH! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU!' Shinn tried to get up and retaliate, only to have a third voice halt the two of them.

'Both of you... ENOUGH!' The third voice echoed in their minds. "Just... stop..." Kira grunted, having managed to get up, speak his mind, and then slump up next to the side of the Strike Noir's body, still holding his right hand over his face as Shinn and Cagalli slowly ceased their actions and turned towards him, a few feet away. "Get... off of him..." Kira huffed to Cagalli, his voice weak and frail, as if what he was doing was expending all of his remaining energy to do it.

"No!" Cagalli spat. "First... why did you do it? WHY? After all this... I thought you were over your past! I honestly thought..." She cried, looking down onto the youngest pilot as he tilted his head to the side in shame and closed his eyes angrily, more than a few slap marks covering his already damn face. "Don't you realize now that acts like that... accomplish nothing! I know what I said earlier... but still!"

"JUST SHUT UP!" Shinn raged, taking advantage and pushing Cagalli off of his body, although meaning not to hurt her in the process, and then proceeding to sit back up and lean against the body of the Noir as well, although some distance from Kira. "Just..." He looked down onto his gloved hands and breathed in heavily. In and out... in and out. "I GET IT! I GET IT ALREADY YOU DON'T NEED TO DRILL IT IN!"

"I DON'T? OH, REALLY?" Cagalli questioned.

"YEAH, REALLY!" Shinn responded while Cagalli huffed and started to walk towards him when he raised his left hand up in defense. "Seriously..." He cried out, his voice low and tired and full of regret as he turned to his right, looking in Kira's direction, the rain weakening his hair to such a degree that it was now nearly covering his uninjured left eye, that left eye, still purple and maintaining it's SEED status. "You killed them... it was... non-intentional... I know that... but I was angry... and as much as I wanted to... as much as I desired to let that hatred go... I couldn't... I just couldn't..." He shook his head in disgrace. "Not until now... but now I realize... my reason for fighting... down at the core... was really pointless..." He sobbed, coughing a bit from the cold air around him. "And... I'm... I'm sorry... I truly am..." He admitted, groaning in regret of his past actions.

"Heh..." Kira, despite his injuries seemed to give a slight laugh. "Thank... you..." He breathed in raising his head up and coughing in pain.

"Kira...!" Cagalli was startled, and quickly rushed over to her brother, sitting down and holding him. "Kira..."

"I'll... be alright... Cagalli..." Kira coughed.

'Do you think he's...' Cagalli mentally questioned.

'Yes... I can see it in his eyes...' Kira responded as the golden Lioness of ORB turned her attention back to Shinn, who still had his gaze focused on the two of them. "Shinn... can I ask you something... please... in this small amount of time we have... all three of us together... and no one else..." Kira requested.

"Any... anything... what is it?" Shinn gulped slightly.

"What... happened to her...? To Stella, I mean? Is... is she alright?" Kira asked, his tone chalk full of concern and worry.

"She's fine, for now. The doctors are treating her as best as they can... and she's recovering." Shinn informed as Kira slouched back in relief, still holding the side of his skull at the same time.

"Whoa... Kira..!" Cagalli sparked. "Here... let me see that..." She tried to get at his head injury.

"No! Cagalli... no, not until we get back to the ship. Don't worry... I haven't lost an eye... but it burns and I need to hold onto it..." He warned as Shinn sighed and moved in closer.

"I... I tried to make sure that Stella's safety would be ensured, just so you know... although right now I don't think it must mean much..." He tilted his head down yet again.

"You're wrong..." Kira said back. "It means a lot to me... that she's alright. A whole lot... more than you can imagine." Kira coughed.

"No... more than I can imagine..." Shinn whispered as he inched in closer, a cautious Cagalli still watching him as he leaned next to them. "But tell me..." He began. 'This feeling... if you can hear me now... why?' He mentally asked as Cagalli's eyes shot open for a second, and then clamped down once more.

"Shinn... that look in your eyes... have you seen a mirror lately? When you're in battle, and you fight to the best of your abilities?" Cagalli asked.

"What?" Shinn gasped, falling onto the back of his hands. "I heard about SEED mode... from our doctor... but... is this it? MENTAL COMMUNICATION?" He moved in closer. 'Seriously?' He cringed.

'Yes, it is. However it only happens to those who have this power... and only between them while it is activated...' Cagalli stated.

'And only within a certain range of about a couple feet... if you want the clean and easy version, that's what SEED mode means... Shinn...' Kira added as he leaned back up again, struggling to do so while the other two leaned his back parallel to the Noir's body.

'Wow... I didn't think of it that way... I always thought it just made me stronger...' Shinn thought.

'I does...' Kira grumbled while getting 'comfortable'. 'Alongside the mental thing, too... even when not in use your skills are enhanced above those of ordinary people, although just a bit...'

'That's... that's deep...' Shinn shook his head. 'But I still have one question... in case your ship is out there. What the hell are you guys doing anyway just sitting out there in the middle of the sea, huh?' Shinn mentally barked again.

'Shinn... it's complicated...' Kira responded.

'Do you even know what Durandal's real goal is? What his TRUE intentions are?' Cagalli asked. 'Then again, should we really tell anyone in Zaft about the Destiny...' Cagalli led on, letting out a physical sigh as she did. "About the Destiny Plan... dammit..."

"The 'Destiny Plan'? Look, I heard the Chairman was spouting some nonsense about 'ending all war forever', but what the heck is this plan?" Shinn shrugged his shoulders, while Kira extended out his free left hand and grabbed his collar.

'The worst thing imaginable...' Kira drew him in closer, and in that moment in time, thought about everything he had recently learned from Oscar Durandal, about Gilbert Durandal. All the memories of that conversation flashed before Shinn's mind, overloading his senses to some degrees and making him gasp in shock and realization.

"That... that's just so... look, I knew the Chairman wasn't exactly the man supporting the standard... but this... this is..." Shinn stuttered, looking back to Kira. "I find this hard to believe... but... considering all that you've shown me... just... that kind of idea doesn't appear to be something that would solve anything, and I can't imagine the problems Durandal would have to go through..."

"Yeah, okay. We get it, Shinn. Your completely blown over about what you heard. Same thing happened to us." Cagalli interrupted angrily, looking up to the sky and noticing how the opaque mist created by the battle was slowly disappointing. She knew she didn't have much time left before Zaft suits came for them.

"I can't help but feel disappointed with myself... for what I've done." Shinn stated, and before Cagalli could verbally jump on him, he backed off a little and raised both hands. "And no, I'm not talking about Kira... I'm talking about... my decision to leave ORB in the first place... those years ago..." He shook his head at an almost violent frequency. "I really don't like what Durandal's doing... now that I see it... and before you even think of asking me to come with you and just 'join ORB'... I can't. I'm not going to abandon my post like that... not right now... and not..."

"While Stella's future is uncertain?" Kira turned and looked at the younger pilot as he blinked once, and do to either a sense of comfort or peace, his SEED mode eyes had faded back to normal. "Is that why? I don't blame you then, Shinn..." He acknowledged. "I guess you'll have to make due with what you have with Zaft right now. I'm sure... in the future we'll meet though as this war intensifies... and we'll be able to talk about things work something out... and I won't be in such a condition..." Kira cracked a slight smile. "Cagalli... I think it's best if we head back to the Archangel now..."

"I think so too... Shinn... help me... help me take him back to my suit!" Cagalli ordered as she grabbed Kira's right side and began to lift, with Shinn silently taking Kira's left half, the Ultimate Coordinator grabbing onto him with his free hand as the two lifted him to his feet and began to walk him away.

"Are you even sure that the Archangel... wasn't destroyed?" Shinn questioned.

"I'm positive... trust me... it's a good think Captain Ramius ordered the two escort ships we had to launch as many jamming shells as they did... or Zaft would have found us by now. As it stands, I knew we had a couple minutes, but we have to hurry, alright!" She commanded like the Lioness she was.

"Fine then!" Shinn barked back.

"Ouch... you two still need to... not rush things... I may have broken some bones... the doctor will tell in time..." Kira groaned as the two reached the wire that would lead up to the cockpit. "I can take it from here, alright? I'll send it back down for Cagalli as soon as I'm up." He moved in pain, sliding his left foot into the hole and then wrapping his left hand around the wire as the two let him go, the injured Ultimate Coordinator ascending to Strike Rouge's cockpit, leaving Shinn and Cagalli alone, waiting.

"I have to head back now... to the Minerva..." Shinn turned to the Impulse for a second and then back to Cagalli as she grabbed his right shoulder. "What?"

"Be careful... Son of ORB... I know I'll see you again in the future, but still... be careful..." She looked deep into his eyes for a second, while small hints of red seemed to form underneath the eyelids and cheeks of each of them while they locked stares, hazel to red.

"Hehe... even though I've been a dick... an asshole... I can't believe it..."

"I've seen worse... far worse..." She cut him off.

"I know... but..." He blushed some more. "There's one thing... about you... I think that..." He began to move his head closer to hers, centimeter by centimeter. "I think I developed feelings for you... all this time." He closed his eyes and attempted to move his lips even closer to hers, only to get a rude realization when she smacked him across the face, causing his expression to quickly turn from one of bliss to the disbelief of a startled man.

"I will never... ever... ever... let a man just kiss me again outright and get away with it! Got that!?" She roared as he turned back, a red mark visible on his face while the rain began to die down in the process. "You got away with it twice in ORB, and someone else who's name shall not be mentioned got away with it once and I HATED IT EVERYTIME!" She raged, tugging his collar closer to her at the same time so as to look him point-blank in the eyes. "So third times the charm, at least for you!" She barked, yet at the same time, seemed to lighten up as she looked into the bright, emotional red eyes. "Yet... after seeing someone... as stubborn as me... I can't help but emphasize with you in that way..." She said lightly, her own lips drifting towards his and slamming onto them as she closed her eyes, while Shinn himself wrapped his arms around her and kissed back for a minute, a final tear rolling from his eyes as the two ended the kiss.

"Trust me... this isn't over..." He said.

"It's far from over..." Cagalli said as she moved back and onto the now-lowered wire, stepping onto it and getting back up as Shinn made a mad dash towards the Sword Impulse, and with all haste, managed to jump onto the Noir's busted body and then into the Impulse, buckling himself in and backing up, off of the powered down gundam before asking one question over the short range communications as he noticed the Rouge 'wade' into the water.

"Hey... aren't you taking this back? The Noir... it's yours, right?"

"No time." Cagalli said from the Rouge, while Kira added to this.

"And besides... I think that after what you displayed... that gundam should be put to rest... it's defeated, and would be difficult to repair. If Zaft asks any questions... just show them it's remains..." Kira finished as the line cut, the Rouge diving under the water and the Impulse just sitting there, Shinn displaying another stunned look.

"Show them it's remains..." He said to himself as he reached for both Folding Razors and threw one at the Noir's open cockpit, and another at it's head, the two blades whipping in the air, sinking into the powered down armor as a small explosion and fire burst from the cockpit and the head rolled off of the suit's shoulders to the ground below. 'Now... I have to get back...' Shinn looked at his own power gauge, and he was still good. Before too long the Sword Impulse was flying through the air and eventually got close enough to meet up with some BABIs that were searching the area. When asked why he took so long, all Shinn had to say back was "What, you think that suit's pilot would go down easy? It took all that I had to bring it down, and the proof is over there!" He growled, and when Zaft went to investigate, there was barely anything left but the head and v-fin, which broke in half while the optics had shattered...

-End Flashback-

* * *

And with that, Stella was standing with her back to the wall, head tilted down, and fingers stretched out and flush against the surface they were resting on. Kira stood with his arms cross and was silent, waiting for a reaction, as was Shinn and Cagalli, although there was a hint of blushing red on each of their faces.

"I know you may not have liked that..." Kira spoke up. "But that's what happened. What really happened in the end of that fateful day."

"I flat out lied to my own comrades... then and there... err..." Shinn made a brute, but silent grunting noise. "Nonetheless... remember when I came to you after the battle, and I was calm... and I told you not to worry about the Archangel for now?"

"I... I remember... alright then... I guess I'll sit down now. That was... well lets just say I can't think of the words right now? Okay?" Stella turned up and began to walk back towards the table.

"Yeah, it's fine, Stella. No worries... you're back now, though." Cagalli breathed.

"I still have a problem. Well, a couple of problems, and a question or two." Shinn turned and looked at Kira, and narrowed his eyes somewhat, a hint of anger coming from their red tone. "When we got up here there wasn't much time to talk, and shortly after Cagalli and Stella landed, so I couldn't ask you this... you captured me now? You told me to go before, yet Stella was on the Minerva in both cases. Why?"

"Because... err..." Kira raised his right hand and pointed a dull finger at Cagalli. "She's the one who came up with most of the plan. I just came up with the concept." The Lioness rolled her eyes.

"Concept?" Shinn questioned.

"You'll know what I'm talking about in a bit. But the way I figured it, if we captured you, then we would be testing Durandal. You wouldn't have come on your own accord, and then we would see if he was willing to use Stella as leverage to get you back. However, that's moot now, because she's here." Cagalli stated.

"So... you would..." Shinn raised his voice a tad.

"If... IF Durandal threatened Stella in response, ORB would hand you back over to Zaft, and then it would be on you to tell what happened. I'm sure there were more than a few mobile suits that saw the Impulse go down." Cagalli countered sharply.

"Fine." Shinn muttered. "That still doesn't..."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Stella yelped from her chair as she sat at it, arms crossed over her breasts with the facial expression of an annoyed, pissed off child. "How did Kira and Cagalli manage to get back to ORB from the Earth Alliance?" She asked assertively, only to lose that vigor in her next sentence. "I thought... I thought that if Shinn didn't kill you guys... they would for certain..." She almost cried.

"I'm curious too... do tell..." Shinn smirked in an inquisitive manner, tilting his head to the left, as Cagalli took a deep breath.

"You can thank Seiran for that... Stella." Cagalli stated, turning towards Kira and giving a nod to him. In return Kira walked back, towards the series of control panels on the other side of the room.

"What? Seiran? Isn't he the one who tried to make you sign the treaty? To marry that purple haired guy who I saw on the television? Who..." Shinn began, spouting his disbelief in a somewhat humorous manner as Kira pressed a few buttons on the panel and began to type in a few keys on a keyboard.

"I KNOW! Shocking, isn't it, at least for someone who bases their opinion of them on what's happened in the actions leading up to and during this war, right?" Cagalli roared, offended at what Shinn had said. "And for the record, when I said 'thank Seiran', I was not referring to Yuna Roma... I was talking about Yanata Ema, his father." She explained in a harsh manner.

"Whoa... okay then..." Shinn backed off.

"We managed to escape the clutches of the Earth Alliance because Kira and I are both considered royalty in ORB, and ORB, being a member of the Earth Alliance now, exerts some degree of influence over it. With that in mind, Yanata Ema fought tooth and nail to get us back here, safely."

"Okay then... well at least you're back now... Cagalli..." Stella said joyfully.

"Although..." Kira began, coming up behind Shinn and Cagalli. "Once we got back, we were put into a secure part of the Seiran Estate, constantly under surveillance, and with no way to contact the outside world."

"So Cagalli couldn't deal with the Djibril situation..." Shinn lead on.

"Exactly." Kira finished.

"Well, it was better than the alternative. Considering how injured Kira was at the time, and how many Earth Alliance soldiers said they had a 'bone to pick with him' for what he's done to them in the past... war brings out the worst in people..." Cagalli added.

"But that still doesn't tell me..." Stella stood up and placed both hands onto the table. "Where is Miss Murrue and the others? Like Mr. Murdock?"

"Uh..." Kira lowered his head, clenched his fists, and although there was no visual proof, it sounded like he shed a tear.

"I think... we have more pressing matters to talk about than that... like the battle going on outside." Cagalli spoke, the electronic door opening up to reveal Erica Simmons alongside Ledonir Kisaka. "It's time..."

"Wha... who are you guys?" Shinn questioned, looking at the engineer and soldier.

"I could ask the same question. But for now, consider the two of us as the reason why Kira and Cagalli managed to gain access to those two suits when the time came..." Erica greeted, pointing out the window towards the Sovereign and Veneficus.

"Now please, come on. We haven't much time left. Zaft is gaining the upper hand outside." Kisaka warned as the twins nodded in agreement, and the whole group of them proceeded to make their way out of the room, while all Shinn and Stella could mentally ask was 'where are we going?'

* * *

Another dark location in the same facility, a few minutes later:

The six of them, lead by Erica and Kisaka now made their way across a metal platform that stretched across a dark, man made cavern. The room was completely and utterly dark, and one could only see a few feet ahead of themselves. However despite this, the two adults continued on, confident in their route, until they came to a stop.

"So what's this all about?" Shinn questioned, diverting the spotlight towards himself, so to speak. "You mentioned Zaft gaining the upper hand, but you damaged the Impulse? What gives? How am I supposed to..." He was stopped when Erica made a fake coughing sound.

"The Impulse? You won't need that machine... not anymore... hopefully." She stated, reaching inside her pocket and pressing a button as Shinn and Stella looked around the entire area, the room's lights flashing on in an instant and revealing two more mobile suits.

The first of these two machines seemed to depart from the design of the previous two greatly, and was a lot slimmer. Two things echoed from it's design: Speed and agility.

Starting at the feet, this machine already looked weird. The feet were thin, identical, but at the same time, they each had a device mounted on them that to some extend, resembled the Minerva's Tristan double beam cannons but were far smaller, and appeared to be on a track that meant they could move down to the toes and look as if they would flip around the feet. The foot guards were simply a small bent piece of metal that extended around from one side to the other side of each ankle and were simple. The legs on this were skimpy. They were thin, very, very thin, bar one small point. There appeared to be thruster on both sides of each leg that found it's origin at the knee and extended down nearly to the feet and looked like a smaller version of Veneficus' shoulders in a sense, mounted on the sides of the legs. The knees had a solid sheet of metal over top with no armor peaking through, and the bottom half of the knee armor extended down towards the foot guards but was thin, nearly flush with the armor, and was shaped like the ends of forks used for eating lobster. The front skirts looked like the ends of steak knifes with the sharp end facing outwards as they extended down half way to the knees.

The side skirts of this gundam are probably one of the most unique things about it. Unlike normal gundams where the side skirts were attached to the waist these were attached to the sides of the top of the legs and were shaped as if they were a large piece of excess skin that was pulled upwards along the sides of the torso, and again, were very thin. Directly below the origin of the side skirts was a separation of armor going directly around each leg. The chest seemed to be a carbon copy of the Sovereign's in a sense, but seemed to be 'more refined' like it was an updated version, and lacked the two pieces of armor that peaked through the frame. The shoulders were not big and bulky, in a horizontal sense, but rather a vertical sense. They looked like roller coaster tracks that went ninety degrees in the air, the flat side facing outwards. They didn't extended much past the arms horizontally and didn't go any higher than the head vertically, and had the ORB symbol on the right one and 'ORB-03' on the left. The arms again gave off this sense of speed and agility with how thin they were but at the same time the only part where the armor stuck out was the joints. On the right arm one could see what appeared to be a shield, but it was a very different looking shield. It was gray as indicated by it's deactivated phase shift armor, was attached to the arm but not entirely in the same way as the Sovereign's, and was shaped... like a dragon with it's mouth slightly open. On the underside of each arm the same devices that were mounted on the feet could also be seen, but they didn't have the same track, and faced forward.

The head of this gundam did resemble the Sovereign's in that it didn't have anything on it's face mask and the v-fin, while different, seemed to be based off of the Sovereign's. The jewel on the forehead of the gundam was an upside down triangle with 'ORB-03' and 'Dimisit' inscribed on it. The v-fin was composed of a single antenna that looked a lot like a thin, long, 'w' with it's two ends sticking up. On the sides of the head one could see a sideways antenna like the Sovereign's except it was shaped like the 'fins' you see on fish or on the sides of a mermaid's head in movies. Behind the neck there appeared to be an odd device that looked as if something would connect into it. The backpack of this machine was also different, considering it's wings, but in a different fashion. There were two average sized thruster packs sticking out of the back of the machine upwards and at an angle so if you looked at it from above it would look like a 'v', but the wings were not attached to these, but to the main body itself. The wings of this machine extended from somewhat over the gundam's head and came about three feet from touching the floor, and were shaped like a dragon's but with no skin. The term 'bony' describes them perfectly, and on the end of each wing 'bone', of which there were five with one outer large bone and four inner ones, there were some small cone shaped ends which had small thruster holes on them, four per cone.

The back skirt of this machine, which should have been mentioned before, is now being mentioned now because it housed two weapons, and were shaped like the front one's as usual. One of them was a compact rod by the looks of it and was mounted on the pack of the machine. The other was more interesting. This weapon appeared to be a mace and chain of sorts, with the ball resembling a flanged mace's head. The chain was wrapped around a small wheel mounted on the back of the machine but there was a handle for the chain which attached into the back of the machine, almost as if it was folded up for storage. All in all, this gundam was sleek and mysterious in terms of the main body, but contrasted by the imposing but not overpowering bone like wings, and Stella just adored looking at it and wondering what each thing did, as they intrigued her.

Starting from the feet down, the second machine, and the one that Shinn was eying had two individual feet, which both looked like there was a distinctive right foot and left foot, unlike some other machines where the feet looked exactly the same. The outside edge and heel of each foot looked as if it would become a different color than the center of the front foot, like most machines. There was a weird looking thruster on the top of the front of each foot that seemed to look like four little diagonal lines on each foot. If you were facing the front of the suit, there would be four '\' looking thrusters on the right foot one on top of the other and four '/' thrusters on the left foot in the same fashion.

The foot guards looked to be attached to the side of the feet and went all the way around the ankle and were quite thick, but were completely flat in a sense, as if it was one piece of metal bent around the ankle. The legs of the suit were actually quite bulky as they approached the ground. On the front of leg you could see a panel that indicated there was a thruster there, and on the back of each leg there were three more panels that also indicated a lower leg thruster, and these were right next to each other horizontally. The knees of this machine were interesting. You could say that the knee armor of the machine Shinn was looking at resembled a diamond if not for the beam saber sticking upwards out of it at a fifty degree angle.

The front skirts of the machine looked like the ends of one sided daggers in a sense, because the side facing the crotch was completely flat, but the side facing outwards looked jagged, and they also extended down three quarters of the way to the knee armor each. The crotch of the machine looked a lot like the Impulse's with the different colored piece of metal on top of it and a thruster pointing downwards below it. The back skirts were exactly the same as the front skirts, but longer, going all the way down to the back of the knee armor and covering it, seeming to protect the joint. The side skirts were the real eye catcher of this machine though. They didn't look like normal side skirts, they looked as if it was a 'folded arm' in a sense.

The first half of the arm was below the second half, which folded over it and then reconnected back into the waist of the machine where the hand would be. If there was a hand on the end of each waist 'arm, then it seemed to have a large rounded tear dropped shaped hand guard covering it and facing outwards, with what looked to be a diamond shaped object on top of each hand guard.

The waist of this machine went back to the design of the Sovereign and Veneficus, look wise. The rest of the suit looked to be bulkier as well... not in a sense of fatness, but strength or, one could say, big boneness, for some odd reason. For the most part the waist of the machine looked to be a modified copy of the Strike's with two bars sticking out front from the inner frame of the machine.

The vents on the upper chest of the machine were bigger than normal, there appeared to be a different colored piece of metal running on top of them and conforming around the entire torso itself. From what Shinn could see the cockpit of the machine was in the same place and location as the Strike Rouge's or Strike Noir's, but the door seemed to be a lot bigger, like you could stand up straight and walk into it comfortably rather than needing to crouch.

The shoulder armor was not that long, but longer than the Impulse's, and seemed to resemble the Freedom's in a sense if not for one reason: Another one of those 'folded arm' like structures stuck out of the same place where the Freedom would have it's shoulder thrusters, and folded back over and reattached onto the top of the shoulder armor. On the right shoulder you could see the ORB Logo and on the left shoulder you could see '04' written there. The arms of this gundam were actually a bit thicker than normal, but still not as thick as the one's on the colossus.

Again, they seemed to resemble the Strike's in that the armor was in no way uniform and that the frame of the machine stuck out in several places, and there was no shield on this machine. The hand guards looked to be exactly the same as the four other 'folded arms' on the side skirts and shoulder armor, just bigger. The hands were open right now and holding nothing, but upon closer inspection one could see a circle that looked kind of like a bulls eye in the palm of each hand, as well as a small emitter of sorts on the tip of each finger.

The backpack of this machine was something incredible in and of itself. There was a large thruster unit on the back of the machine, with two large thrusters facing downwards. However, there were also a pair of wings on the back. Both of these wings looked as if they consisted of two large pieces on the top and bottom with several smaller pieces hiding within them. The lower piece was small, and the upper piece was bigger, and there looked to be a different color metal that would form the upper half of the suit's wings. However, jetting through the upper wing was a small piece of metal that stuck out a little but. Both of these wings were attached to the machine's central thruster backpack by a hinge of sorts, however there looked to be a beam saber sticking up out of each. There was also something else that was on the backpack of the suit. Two large holsters that were attached to the backpack on either side looked to each contain what appeared to be a massive anti-ship sword each, however this weapon was folded up from what it looked like.

The head of this machine had an averaged sized chin, three vents on the side of the face going forward, and what looked to be some sort of tear drop coming out of each eye, because the armor before the eyes on the front of the face had two triangles cut out of it below each eye. The face mask also had the two vents that were on the freedom gundam itself, but there was only one upwards facing

'triangle'. The CIWS were mounted above the vents on the head, and this mobile suit also had two forehead cameras, with one on top of each other. The jewel that connected the v-fin to the head looked like a square that thinned out as it got closer to the face, and had the inscription 'ORB-04' and 'Potentia' on it. The v-fin itself extended out horizontally until it reached the edge of the face mask, and then bent upwards at a forty five degree angle. Also there was a little extra piece on the bottom of each half of the v-fin as it bent, which looked as it there was a spike on the bottom of it, and the v-fin itself did not look to be one complete piece. Overall, the machine seemed to be at least twenty five meters tall and a lot heavier than the Impulse as well, which was not even eighteen meters tall.

"Well, what do you think?" Erica asked with a spark of pride, turning to the '03' gundam. "ORB-03 Demoness..." she turned to the other. "ORB-04 Judicator. The most powerful close quarters combat units created by Morganroate, capable of utilizing the power of the SEED factor..." She continued, and while Stella had her eyes absolutely fixed on the Demoness in a state of utter shock, joy, happiness, and awe, Shinn was looking up the Judicator, not speaking a word.

"So your saying these can work in tandem with our SEED powers? Our mental abilities? I didn't know Stella had that ability..." Shinn asked softly, getting a slight 'Um hum' from the Extended girl.

"Yes, it's quite the ingenious program if I do say so myself." Erica turned towards Kira and Cagalli who kept quiet for the moment.

"So what you said about the Impulse... you said that because... because you want me to pilot this machine, the Judicator?" Shinn questioned, looking back at Erica.

"Precisely." She nodded.

"Wow... when can I...!" Stella began, her voice cut off by Shinn's next statement.

'My 'new' machine...' He thought, looking towards the twins. "So, right now... are you just expecting me to drop everything I have in Zaft, and take on the mantle of an ORB pilot? To throw away the relationships I've had with friends on the Minerva and switch sides? To defect? Right here, right now? That's it, isn't it?" He leaned in closer, and somewhat angry look in his eyes. Kira walking forward in response.

"We're not here to force you, Shinn. Know that right now. However you did say that you regretted leaving ORB in the past." Kira stated as Shinn crossed his arms and smugged. "If you want to pilot this machine, the choice is yours and yours alone. So think about it... and decide for yourself." Kira smiled as Shinn backed a step away, and looked down towards the feet of the gundam, and then tilted his head all the way up until a flash of light, shining off of the Judicator's v-fin reflected into his right red eye.

"Right now, Zaft is chasing after Lord Djibril, and I don't blame them for doing so." Shinn started, all eyes, even Stella's, now fixed upon him. "I know that I am an imperfect human being... we all are. And I know, sometimes I can become extremely pissed off and get incredibly angry with people. However, that rage sometimes gives me strength... as weird as it sounds." He looked into Kira's eyes for a split second, the Ultimate Coordinator's expression in line with Shinn's statement. "However, I think that if such a condition is my nature, I should put it to good use; that I should direct it towards Djibril. Right now, as a soldier of Zaft, that theory is sound." He paused for a bit. "However, as I've learned, Zaft has other intentions... intentions that I necessarily do not agree with, and people lining it's ranks who I do not find myself liking, both in the fields of personality and ideology. So with that in mind, my goal is not to fight hopelessly for the past, for what has already passed, but to work for and protect a better future... that is why I must ask you..." He now shifted his attention towards Cagalli. "What is ORB's 'agenda'?" He questioned.

"I hate Djibril, and I disagree with Durandal's overall scheme. Need anymore?" Cagalli responded quickly and confidently as Shinn smirked.

"Alright then..." He looked back up to the Judicator. "I guess I still won't have to bite the bullet about what my cause is, but I will have to about how people are going to perceive me..."

"We all must sacrifice in war, Shinn." Kira stated, Shinn agreeing silently.

"War is a terrible thing, isn't it? However, while I've lost a lot, I've also learned a lot. We live in a universe that is by default, cruel. It is cruel because the process of creation and destruction are not equal." Shinn stated.

"Wait? What do you mean?" Cagalli asked.

"I think I know..." Stella whispered.

"Indeed..." Erica followed, the two engineers already onto Shinn's line of thought.

"How long does it take to make something? Whether it be... this suit I'm wearing, this bridge we are all standing on, these mobile suits next to us, or even fellow human beings like ourselves? It takes a long time to make things... but to destroy them... that's easier. Just look outside and see how easily mobile suits, from both sides, are being destroyed... or how people have to run to the shelters for the sake of not being wiped out in an instant." He shook his head. "It's not fair, and life isn't fair... however we as humans do whatever we can to make it fairer... so with that in mind, I will pilot the ORB-04 Judicator... right now." Shinn spoke decisively, everyone else in the room smiling in his direction expect Stella, who snuck up on him and wrapped her right arm over his shoulder.

"Are you sure? Once this happens... I don't think there will be any going back, Shinn." She warned with a bit of fear. 'All those people on the Minerva... you had relationships with them...'

"Stella... it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The answer is yes... we'll fight together now, alright?" He asked, and she smiled in return.

"Alright." She turned to Erica. "So, how do we get inside of them? You're the expert after all!" She asked while Erica took in a deep breath and a sigh, laughing slightly in the process.

"It's not that simple. I think the two of your... especially you..." She pointed right at the green uniformed Stella. "Had better change flight suits into something more suitable, alright? Besides, we need time to move these things anyway, and I'll have to give you a quick run down on them... you don't want to go into the battle blind, now do you?"

"NOPE!" Stella laughed.

"Lady Cagalli... Prince Kira... can you take them to were they need to go?" Kisaka requested.

"I was thinking the same thing. Now come on, you two! Zaft isn't going to defeat itself!" Cagalli ordered, the four ORB pilots going back the way they came, while Erica and Kisaka followed, although they would be taking a different route.

* * *

Archangel Bridge:

"Are you sure about this, Captain?" Executive Officer Erin Dubu questioned.

"Yes. This has gone on long enough and we're not beating them back fast enough for my liking. All of them are to leave immediately! Hawke, how long until our suits are ready to launch?" Kendan asked.

"Deploying them now sir! X19S Crusader and X70S Assassin, go ahead, launch!" Meyrin announced, while down in the hanger bay, the pilots took off.

"Athrun Zala, Crusader, taking off!"

"Heine Westenfluss, Assassin, launching!" The two gundams took off from the port and starboard side launchers respectively, their phase shift activating to display their reflective colors before heading into battle, the other two machines quickly taking their places in the catapult and preparing to sortie.

"X35S Colossus and X20S Legacy, clear!" Meyrin finished.

"Lunamaria Hawke, Colosuss, heading out!"

"Rey Za Burrel, in Legacy, launching!" The final two machines left and powered up their phase shift, the four of them flying in a group towards the area where most of the combat was centered.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"IFF code positive. Archangel has just launched it's four gundam-type machines." Abbey informed from the bridge, Captain Gladys just having had ordered a zoom in to see if the machines were the gundams or just regular mass production models.

"I see..." She sighed. "Thank you... now let's observe how things occur from here on end... without the Impulse, or the Gaia..." Talia leaned her head to the side.

"Captain, shall we move the ship forward?" Arthur asked.

"No... not unless we receive orders."

* * *

"What the hell?" An ORB Murasame pilot swore as he was quickly overtaken by the Crusader in the blink of an eye, trying to make a turn around, but was too slow.

"Alright, where are you hiding the bastard? Where is he?" Athrun questioned, rolling to his right while unleashing a barrage from the Crusader's Fatum-10 cannons, taking out an Astray.

"AHH! Handle this!" Lunamaria yelled, unfolding the cannon on the Colossus' right side into sniper rifle mode and aiming downwards, firing it alongside her chest mounted canon onto an Aegis Mk.2-class warship below, striking it's bow gun as well as it's helipad, the vessel exploding seconds later from severe damage. "Why you!" She backed off as a Murasame charged blindly towards her with it's beam saber, firing off several rounds from her beam Gatling guns to destroy it.

"Stand back guys..." Rey ordered to the other pilots, the Legacy's control console popping up while Rey designated several targets and locked onto them, firing a complete full burst from his small DRAGOONs, beam rifles, multi-phase chest cannon and hip mounted rail cannons, the entire battlefield bursting into flames before the ZGMF-X20S with explosions of it's defeated foes. "Hmmph..."

* * *

"Okay, are you sure it fits you just fine?" Kira asked as Shinn zipped up a black, red, and slightly blue pilot's suit, of the ORB design.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine! What are you, my mother or grandmother, Kira?" Shinn asked in a sarcastic manner as Kira chuckled lightly.

"Alright, just checking!" He responded, only to have the change room door open up and Ledonir Kisaka rush in.

"Alright the Demoness and Judicator are prepared for takeoff." He warned.

"Good!" Shinn put his hand inside the helmet from the locker and took it.

"But you guys have to launch now! Zaft's sent out their own new models..." Kisaka ran out of breath as Shinn tightened the grip on his helmet.

"The nuclear powered Second Stage mobile suits... yeah, Kira, we've got to go!" Shinn warned, the scarred brunette agreeing as the two left.

"Wait, nuclear powered? Fission reactors? And who are the pilots?" Kira questioned as the two burst down the hallways of the hidden hanger towards the launch area.

"Fission reactors, yes. Although the treaty is null and void now. And as for pilots... you're not going to like it, but one of them is..."

"... Athrun Zala... I understand." Kira said back.

* * *

Thirty seconds later the four pilots congregated in the center of the room that Kira initially brought Shinn's Impulse in, the four ORB-0x gundams standing and waiting for take off, with Erica Simmons by their side.

"Alright, so what did you say about giving us a run down of these machines?" Stella questioned.

"No time. All of you must launch immediately!" Erica warned, the four of them shaking their heads and rushing towards their machines, only to be stopped when the women decided she had one last thing to say. "Just... Shinn and Stella... when the SEED O.S. Activates, don't think you're piloting the gundam... think of yourself as the gundam... that's the best advice I can give."

"Roger." Stella stated, sliding her right foot into the hook at the bottom of the Demoness' wire and ascending upwards to it's cockpit, the four of them rushing inside and into the seats. Funny thing was about these cockpits is that they were designed in a different way.

Unlike normal mobile suits, the cockpits of these machines were large spherical shaped chambers, which looked as if they had some sort of monitor system set up on the floor and on the walls of it. In the center of the cockpit was a seat, with different looking mobile suit controls, and something that looked like a control panel and keyboard that was extending out of the right arm of the chair. As Shinn got into the pilot's seat and buckled in, the control panel turned on a hinge and connected to the other arm of the chair as he turned on the system itself. "Oh my..." Shinn said as he saw an ORB Logo appear and then the word GUNDAM written vertically on the left side of the screen, each letter of the word then having a horizontal word come from it, forming the acronym ******G**eneral ******U**nilateral ******N**euro-link ******D**ispersive ******A**utonomic ******M**aneuver. However then that screen disappeared and a new one come up.

Cagalli's screen displayed 'ORB-01 Sovereign' as well as 'Prototype SEED User Ultimate Ranged Defensive Mobile Suit'.

Kira's showed 'ORB-02 Veneficus' and 'Prototype SEED User Ultimate Ranged Offensive Mobile Suit'.

Stella's was 'ORB-03 Demoness' alongside 'Prototype Transformable SEED User Ultimate Close Quarters Defensive Mobile Suit'.

Finally, Shinn's stated boldly, 'ORB-04 Judicator' with 'Prototype SEED User Ultimate Close Quarters Offensive Mobile Suit'.

"Everybody, clear the area!" Erica warned for the soldiers in the vicinity of the launch room as the four gundams powered up their thrusts, each displaying white eye optics and different colored sensors. When the Morganroate engineer reached the control room where the four of them spoke before, she issued out their orders. "Alright, the four of you are clear! Launch!" Kira and Cagalli didn't need any orders, and quickly jumped into the air, taking off as their machine's phase shift activated into their respective colors.

"Stella Loussier, Demoness... I'M GOING!" The blonde Extended cheered, leaping up and out of the hanger bay as her suit's phase shift activated to reveal an entirely silver color scheme, it's tail unfolding in the process and hanging from it's backside.

"Shinn Asuka, Judicator, launching!" Shinn announced in a decisive tone, taking the Judicator up in the air as it's phase shift activated to show a primarily black color scheme with some red and even less blue, although the last, cold color occupied the v-fin. However, like the Veneficus, this suit's inner frame glowed, but unlike the Veneficus, it glowed a bright red and orange color, like molten metal. As the Judicator left, it's massive wings unfolded and ignited into a pair of blood red wings of light, similar to the Veneficus'.

"There they are! Kira!" Cagalli warned, spotting an explosive burst in the sky ahead of her as several more of her soldiers fell. "Shinn... Stella... quickly look over the specifications of your machines. We'll buy you some time, but be quick about it!"

"Will do!" Stella responded with glee.

"Yes ma'am..." Shinn grumbled, bringing up his keyboard and typing on it quickly.

"Right... I'll do this at least once!" Kira bit his bottom lip, the Veneficus firing both of it's beam rifles as well as the beam cannons mounted in it's wings and separately on it's backpack in the direction of the Zaft suits, six powerful, darker, blue, red and purple energy beams bursting forward.

"Huh?" Rey grumbled, his console going off like crazy just before he powered the Legacy upwards, avoiding the six long range beam shots although just barely, while other pilots of GOUFs, BABIs, and DINNs were not so lucky. "Hmm..." He fixed his gaze onto the source of the blasts and zoomed in. "The Freedom!" He yelled while the opposing gundam fired one of it's beam rifles right at him, the Legacy forced to block with the beam shield on it's left forearm as it aimed it's own beam rifles and began to exchange fire, the two suits circling an invisible point.

"Now take this!" Lunamaria raged as she unfolded both of her beam cannons into the long, sniper modes and fired them at a group of ORB suits, a flash of light rushing in and in front of them as the beams blitzed towards their targets.

"Not so fast!" Cagalli answered, the Sovereign standing tall, proud, and eating the blast from both beams dead on in it's chest and reflecting them off at different angle, while Lunamaria remained stunned to say the least.  
"What the? You should be dead! That's cheating!"

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Captain!" Meyrin warned with urgency as Kendan turned to her. "Our machines have engaged four new, unknown models."

"Reports are saying that two of them match the descriptions of the two suits ORB deployed earlier. However the other two have never been seen before." Mary Walafi added on.

"Well now, so they mean business then. How are our machines performing against them?" Kendan questioned.

"They're in a stalemate. The momentum we gained once we launched our four machines is quickly fading." Erin answered.

In the meantime, the Crusader, which had it's beam naginata at the ready charged, full speed, towards the Demoness, Stella quickly backing away as Athrun took a swing and then raising her shield to block another downward attack. Athrun then proceeded to back off and try to take another swing, but by the time he did the Demoness had reached for something on it's back skirt, a rod of metal, which then extended outwards and emitted two separate beams from each end, a scythe shaped beam and a spear shaped beam, before locking blades with the red and pink gundam.

Following that, Shinn hastily closed the model specifications on his machine, his sensors beeping when a green beam shot blitzed out of nowhere and he was forced to raise his right hand and activate the beam shield on it in a clutch move, the Assassin coming out of stealth right at him with both swords ready soon after. Once the smaller gundam clashed it's left arm against the beam shield Shinn was forced to move back as Heine performed a downward strike with his right, and reach for the beam saber on his left wing, activating it's green, scimitar like blade and engaging the Assassin dead on.

"I see then..." Kendan acknowledged, looking out onto the shores of Ono'goro Island, specifically the city and chuckling lightly as he did. "Well, if ORB's out there to play games, I'm out there to gamble."

"Sir?" Ian asked from the helm.

"Mary, send a message to the ORB Defense Headquarters. Tell them they have THIRTY SECONDS to hand of Djibril and issue their surrender or face the consequences. Ian, take the ship out of the water. Float us seventy meters above the surface."

"Sir!" The two bridge officers responded as the great white and red vessel roared out of the ocean and into the clear air, Admiral Kendan Westenfluss interlinking his fingers together with a smile as he waited.

"Sir, I've received no response from the ORB Defense Headquarters." Mary reported.

"Oh really? Then nobody scream... considering I didn't warn them." Kendan spat.

"Uh... Captain?" One of the gunnery officers down below questioned.

"Lohengrin One, target the coastal area directly ahead of the ship. Order all mobile suits to clear out. Fire on my command." Kendan ordered in a cruel tone, the starboard side positron cannon door flipping upwards as the massive black weapon slid forward from it's resting place, several lights turning on to a bright yellow as the sound of building up anti-matter buzzed in the air.

"Positron bank breath chamber at maximum." Another lower level CIC crewman informed.

"Captain... we're ready to shoot. On your command." The Executive Officer followed up.

* * *

"What the hell are they doing down there?" Shinn nearly screamed from the Judicator as he fought to throw Heine off.

"My god... no!" Cagalli yelled.

"There are civilian shelters down there where he's aiming? Who the hell is in charge of the Archangel now?" Kira questioned, too far away and too busy with the Legacy to rush in and stop the Admiral.

* * *

"Alright then..." Kendan grinned as the vibrating sound from the Lohengrin increases in both frequency and intensity, having had reached its maximum point. "This is the price of your defiance... the cost of your arrogance... _**FIRE!" **_He yelled at the top of his lungs, giving the final order.

_**PHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW-BUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNG**_

A large, green beam energy shot struck the Archangel's Lohengrin, piercing the weapon dead on and continuing onwards, rushing over top the ship and leaving the vicinity as the large positron cannon exploded violently, causing enormous tremors aboard the Archangel's body, and forcing the crew to thank whoever had invented seat belts as they were nearly thrown about.

"WHAT THE HELL? WHERE IN GEORGE GLENN'S NAME DID THAT SHOT COME FROM?" Kendan barked greatly, the view cutting away from the Archangel's bridge to show smoke... light, gray smoke, slowly rising up and out of twin black barrels, those twin black barrels belonging to the Minerva's port side Tristan.

And inside the ship's lowered bridge, the crew sat silently, not speaking a word, as the white suit, Captain Talia Gladys rest in her chair, legs crossed and arms on their respective rests, a silent look of decision, courage, and determination present on her face and inside her dull eyes...

_-To Be Continued... again-_


	10. Phase 39: Unexpected Results

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Author's Note: Starting this chapter at 10:20 P.M., July 12th 2013. It's a late update because I was busy with other things (mainly video games xD) and I had a dental problem where I had to get my upper right wisdom tooth pulled out because it was irritating the wall of my mouth. However that can be considered an excuse, and I've got that tooth on my desk in a box for the sake of it.

* * *

Now... where were we again? Oh yes...

_"Alright then..." Kendan grinned as the vibrating sound from the Lohengrin increases in both frequency and intensity, having had reached its maximum point. "This is the price of your defiance... the cost of your arrogance... __****__**FIRE!" **__He yelled at the top of his lungs, giving the final order._

**__****PHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW-BUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNG**

_A large, green beam energy shot struck the Archangel's Lohengrin, piercing the weapon dead on and continuing onwards, rushing over top the ship and leaving the vicinity as the large positron cannon exploded violently, causing enormous tremors aboard the Archangel's body, and forcing the crew to thank whoever had invented seat belts as they were nearly thrown about._

_"WHAT THE HELL? WHERE IN GEORGE GLENN'S NAME DID THAT SHOT COME FROM?" Kendan barked greatly, the view cutting away from the Archangel's bridge to show smoke... light, gray smoke, slowly rising up and out of twin black barrels, those twin black barrels belonging to the Minerva's port side Tristan._

_And inside the ship's lowered bridge, the crew sat silently, not speaking a word, as the white suit, Captain Talia Gladys rest in her chair, legs crossed and arms on their respective rests, a silent look of decision, courage, and determination present on her face and inside her dull eyes..._

* * *

Many jaws dropped wide open, adrenaline pumped through the veins of soldiers, and confusion conquered the battlefield in the time it takes for a beam to travel, as the most recent action of Zaft Captain Talia Gladys held a firm grip on the area just off the coast of the ORB Union. Sickening, dark gray smoke rose from the lower starboard side leg door of the mighty battleship Archangel, the crew bracing themselves and trying to handle the damage that had so suddenly been inflicted on their newly acquired vessel.

"Lohengrin one is offline! Captain, the weapon's been destroyed! Reports of fires in and nearby the gun's chamber!" Mary Walafi frantically spouted from her chair on the bridge.

"Lohengrin one shutter door is still intact, Captain." Erin Dubu announced from below.

"FCS systems in the starboard leg are offline! Attempting to restart immediately!" Helmsman Ian added.

"Fire control crews to the damaged areas immediately! Hurry and re-establish full control over the FCS!" Kendan ordered, bits of perspiration rolling down his right side as he gripped his hand rests as hard as he could, the entire ship shaking uncontrollably as it started to lean forward and to it's right. Underneath the Archangel's right leg, the thrusters located there now seemed to be malfunctioning and were offline, throwing the ship off of balance as it leaned towards the water, and started to dive forward at a shallow angle.

'Damn, we're not going to make it... well it would be better for the emergency teams if the turbulence was buffed from the water outside... but then the water might get inside the lower chambers... decisions, decisions...' Kendan thought to himself. "All hands brace for water landing and imminent surface impact! Erin, seal off Lohengrin one's hatch, and prepare to reroute the remaining smoke outside through the ventilation system!" He ordered while the ship gently lunged forward and eventually touched the surface of the ocean, leveling off as it's entire body soon found itself in the water too.

* * *

In the meantime, the battlefield was completely stunned, and shocked. While many chose to stare at the situation with complete awe and confusement, others took advantage of the situation.

With the Veneficus and the Legacy flew a fair distance apart, their duel stopped by the actions that had occurred, Rey shifted to towards the darker machine and quickly fired a shot from each of his beam rifles at it. In reaction, Kira hastily raised his gundam's right arm and blocked with the beam shield on it, firing back with his own beam rifles to return the favor.

'We're going to regroup...' Kira thought as he flew away and checked the communication channels. "Cagalli! Shinn! Stella! Come back together!"

"What the hell happened! I mean... what the hell just happened!" Shinn raged from the Judicator, pulling back and the charging forward at his opponent, the Assassin, as he elbowed the smaller mech in the torso and knocked it back.

"The Minerva... a Zaft ship? This... this doesn't make any sense..." Stella wimped, while Athrun tried to take her out with a swing from the boomerangs on his shield. "No..." She moaned in a soft voice, letting the Demoness' fall and descend below the Crusader and then powering up it's thrusters again and moving away.

"Defense Headquarters, this is Cagalli speaking! That shot... what kind of damage would it have dealt? And was that.. the Minerva which stopped it?" The Lioness anxiously asked over the lines as the three other ORB gundams gathered around it, trying to get a hold over the situation, which had just reached new levels of chaos.

* * *

"Well... well... well... what do we have here? Some disobedience inside Zaft's ranks?" Lord Djibril questioned from inside a secure location in ORB, monitoring the outside battles. "This certainly is a day to raise one's eyebrows at..." He chuckled to himself, turning to face two ORB soldiers a second later, and quickly throwing aside his amused facade. "If that shot actually hit the mainland, chances are we would have lost our chance to get into space. What's the status of the shuttle? This battle is only going to get worse as time goes on!" He demanded in a voice that was both stern and yet worried at the same time.

"It'll still take some time, sir. Be patient... the men are working as fast as they can." One of the soldiers answered.

"Tell them to work faster, dammit!" Djibril grunted, as if veins were about to pop. 'Thank the coordinator scum who did this though...'

* * *

ORB Defense Headquarters:

A massive wave of relief relaxed the entire control center as the soldiers inside observed the Archangel while Admiral Westenfluss was halted, unable to destroy them or their city. However at the same time, the higher ups realized that this was no time for gossiping and chatter.

"Thank Haumae..." Colonel Soiga muttered to himself, lifting his head up and straightening his cap a little. "This is actually very good. The Zaft forces retreated from the coast in order to not suffer any casualties! Have the ninth and tenth mobile groups, as well as the second escort fleet move in and recover that ground! Take advantage of the situation!" He ordered.

"Sir!" Several other soldiers obeyed.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Captain, our crews have the damage under control and it is no longer spreading to any other sections of the ship." Executive Officer Dubu reported.

"Good." Was all Kendan answered with, his tone black to the bone. "Open a channel directly to the Minerva's bridge, and open it now." He took off his glasses and began to breath into them, some sweat having had made it's way to the lens in all the rumbling chaos.

"Sir..." Meyrin Hawke whimpered, imputing a few keystrokes into her station controls, Talia Gladys appearing seconds later, Admiral Westenfluss unleashing all his pent up rage in the process.

"Gladys... what the hell have you done now? Opening fire on an allied ship? This... this is unacceptable! Unjustified! In all my years as a soldier of the Zaft military I have never seen such blatant defiance of this magnitude! Now, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" He absolutely demanded, screeching at the top of his lungs in the process.

"Admiral Westenfluss, if you remember correctly, our orders were explicit in their nature..." Gladys began, only to be interrupted.

"Explicit? Capture or kill Lord Djibril. That is our objective, our main objective!"

"We were also told to keep unnecessary casualties, such as those of civilians, or of ORB's cities, to a minimum, no matter what, if I remember correctly." Gladys retorted in a cold tone, holding in her own pent up frustration. "Firing a weapon like a position cannon would have not ensured that those orders were obeyed. You know this as well as I do, _Admiral_."

"Excuse me... direct violation of our orders... violation..." Kendan quickly reached for the pin that was attached to his suit and pointed towards it with his right fingers. "You see this? Here? Violation of our orders, you say? Captain Talia Gladys, I MAKE the orders on the battlefield, above all else, and I can modify them if I so desire, not you! What the Minerva has just done is an act of treason! You have opened fire on a friendly vessel and caused moderate damage to it and you will be court marshelled for your actions once this operation has finished, do I make myself clear?!" With the anger and fury of ten volcanoes, he questioned.

"I... am willing to accept the consequences of my actions..." Talia continued to look directly into Kendan's eyes, and speak in a very acidic tone of voice, Kendan smiling as a result.

'I'll be sure you get your just deserved...' He thought, looking toward Executive Officer Arthur Trine. "You! I am official re-leaving Captain Gladys of her duties! Now take command of the ship and carry out your orders properly, Trine!" Kendan barked.

"Sir..." Arthur began. "I agreed with Gladys when she responded to your... somewhat irrational actions."

"What?" Kendan asked, the back of his head smacking into it's head rest.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, but my crew was on my side when it came to this one. There wasn't any fuss when I issued the order to stop you from committing that action." Gladys responded, the movement in her hands tensing up somewhat, while Kendan relaxed in his chair somewhat, a slight, sly grin forming on his jaw.

"Alright then, I see you've made your point. Meyrin, extend this channel to all Zaft ships taking part in Operation Justice." He ordered, and waited. "For the crimes of opening fire on an allied vessel, and for blatantly disobeying a far superior officer in the wake of those orders, I, Admiral Kendan Westenfluss, FAITH Special Forces Officer now command all Zaft forces in the area to regard the treasonous LHM-BB01 Minerva and it's crew as a hostile entity and no longer recognize it as a Zaft vessel, rather, a threat that is to be dispatched this instant by available personal! This order takes effect immediately!" He snapped his fingers in a fit of righteousness.

"What? You can't just..." Talia protested, throwing herself forward in her chair, while the bridge crew of the Minerva either gasped, cried, or just plain dead gave off surprised and shocked expressions.

"I just did. Until the Supreme Council overrides my orders, you are no longer considered a part of our military. However, chances are you won't survive until then, not in this war zone." Kendan smiled.

"YOU BASTARD!" Gladys lost it as she stood up, right out of her chair. "What were you thinking, Admiral? You think Chairman Durandal will just accept something like this! Do you?"

"Captain, two incoming Vosgulov-class submarines from port. They're arming torpedoes!" Bart stated.

"Understood!" Talia quickly turned her attention towards Bart, and then back to Kendan. "You... you think you're a soldier... you think that just because you have such a high rank and a powerful tool at your disposal that you're invincible, and that you can do anything, but that is false, and I hope you learn that lesson soon enough, Kendan Westenfluss! You're hunting down Lord Djibril, a mass murderer and a war criminal, but the methods you have employed in an attempt to bring him to Justice... make you no better than him! KNOW THAT NOW!" Talia screamed, the communications line severing a second later. "Malik, raise the ship immediately! Get us into the air! Arthur, fire Wolframs to intercept incoming torpedoes from those two Vosgulovs, just to be safe." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Malik answered.

"On it! Tubes one through three, fire!" Arthur responded, the Minerva firing up it's engines and lifting upwards out of the water as two explosions took place just in front of it, from under the water, and a third, small object raced under the ship just as it lifted upwards into the air. "What now then... Captain?" He asked, worried about the fate of the ship, while Talia simply grit her teeth.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Alright... now what... sir?" Executive Officer Dubu questioned, as equally confused as his Minerva counterpart. "Are we... are we going to go after the Minerva?" He leaned back into the recesses of his chair.

"No... no... heck no. We're going to stay here for now, let our engineers take care of everything before we make our next move. How are the engineering crews handling the issue in the starboard leg?" Kendan asked.

"Last report stated that it's running along smoothly, but they'll still need a couple minutes to resolve all the issues." Erin answered, quick to reply.

"We'll let our mobile suits do the talking for now..." Kendan yawned, resting in the Captain's Chair as the Archangel stay near the middle of the attacking Zaft fleet. 'One way or another, we're not going to capture Djibril while leaving their cities completely in tact... no way, it isn't that cleanly cut. However, that was somewhat rash of me... but if Gladys wants to keep playing her games then so be it. The only problem is I doubt the Chairman is going to take this lightly, no matter how I spell it out to him. No matter, chances the forces on our fringe will go after her or perhaps ORB might be the ones to target her down now that she's been forced to the sides... without that soft, weak, naive Princess of there's in power, I doubt the ORB forces will be too kind towards the Minerva, considering what happened to this vessel's previous crew, due to her actions...' Kendan figured in his head, watching as the Minerva flew out of the water and towards the east, out of the fleet.

* * *

Back on the Minerva's bridge:

"I'm sorry..." Talia Gladys muttered, clearly holding back tears, and holding a tone that reflected that. "I didn't realize just how far the 'Admiral' would go in his endeavors. I'm to blame for all this... our ship has certainly seen better days..." She sighed, taking a look on the status of the battle that was going on, where the mobile suits and gundams belonging to both Zaft and the ORB Union were currently engaged in fierce combat.

"I know... Captain... but it's as you said earlier... you would never give an order like what the Admiral did... knowing you... I doubt that you would ever stand by and watch something like that unfold... well... you proved me correct... and I guess that's something to smile over." Arthur responded.

"Thank you, Arthur..." She breathed in again. "I know there's a certain line you can walk on... as a soldier... before you become little more than the terrorist you're hunting, or the commiter of crimes against humanity that you have sought to end... well... I guess some of the brass no longer care about that line. Ironic, considering Zaft's objective." The Captain explained.

"Well, wouldn't this cause a massive fit up in the top brass? I mean, those were our orders? And you wanted to stop them from being broken... so... what's going to happen, Captain? Won't Fleet Command..." Abbey asked, expressing the innocence and optimism of the young, recently assigned soldier that she was.

"Chances are... Admiral Westenfluss is going to get in trouble for this..." Talia nodded her head. "However... for FAITH Officers, the rules are a bit fuzzy and gray in the area of orders... and while I think Durandal is likely to allow us back and overturn him..." She tried to explain, when Bart burst in and talked over her.

"Incoming ORB Mobile suits! At eleven o'clock and closing fast!"

"... chances are we won't get out of this mess in tact..." She shook her head. 'Chances are some of the officers will be indecisive about this, but others won't hesitate to try and shoot us down, dammit. Lost Shinn... that girl Stella got on the loose, and now this? This is easily my worst failure as a Captain...' She thought to herself.

"Prepare to open fire! Activate CIWS and Tristans, load launchers one through..." Arthur reacted, giving out orders to respond to the situation.

"Hang on... they're slowing down, and one of them is trying to contact us, Captain. They're hailing!" Bart raised an eyebrow in discomfort, while Gladys looked out the window and noticed that there were three Murasames escorting the Elegant Sovereign gundam as the machines stopped near the ship, but still kept their distance from her.

"What are they... is that one of the machines that were recently deployed? Open... open a channel then." Talia ordered, completely and utterly baffled by the current situation.

"Captain Gladys... are you okay?" The voice of the golden mobile suit's pilot asked, sounding awfully familiar in the ears of the Minerva's bridge crew.

"Ca... Cagalli? Is that you who's piloting that ORB mobile suit? The real..." Captain Gladys asked.

"Yes, it's me. I know this is a massive shock for you and your crew, given the current circumstances and what's happened, but I'm not blind, I saw what the Minerva did... and even though you're an enemy soldier... I am grateful. Now, what happened? Why did we detect Zaft torpedoes targeting the Minerva?" Cagalli demanded as the Sovereign powered down the beams on it's shield and moved in a wee bit closer to the ship.

"But... wait a second? What are you doing here? What took place...?" Arthur frantically requested.

"Arthur, settle down! That isn't important right now!" Talia cut him off, feeling her own blood pressure rise even more, due to the situation.

"Uh... yes ma'am..." Arthur gulped, while his Captain took in a deep breath and began to explain.

"It's difficult to explain, Chief Representative. However, for some reason, in the eyes of certain officers, obeying orders is enough to get your ship exiled from the forces. Technically, the Minerva and her crew are not to be considered part of Zaft anymore." She explained sarcastically.

"What? How could?" Cagalli freaked out as her sensors beeped, the Sovereign ascending and backing away as three GOUFs approached the Minerva, and Cagalli raised her suit's right arm to defend itself, gesturing the Murasames to deal with the problem. "Well what the hell are you going to do then? If you're not 'considered' Zaft..." Cagalli grunted as she activated her beam again and sliced one of the GOUFs in half right at the waist.

'Considering how close those machines are... I think it's best not to just cut her off...' Talia thought to herself. "I wanted to retreat back to Carpentaria and explain the situation but considering how Zaft has the attack set up, that doesn't appear to be an option" She explained, while Cagalli remained silent and thought to herself about the situation.

"Okay... I understand." The Princess began. "For now, the Minerva should proceed forward and station itself along our coast... no ORB vessel or mobile suit will attack you, unless you attack us first." She issued, causing a ruckus in the bridge, and while Captain Gladys was trying to herself calm and collected, those words forced her hands to start shaking and her fingers to jitter somewhat uncontrollably.

"Is she serious?" Malik mumbled.

"How in the?" Arthur coughed.

"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Bart added.

"Oh my god... what's going to happen to us now?" Abbey shuddered.

"What? Representative Attha, are you insane? You're letting us through?" Talia asked in confusion.

"Yes, now before more Zaft forces attack your ship because of what it's done, go to these coordinates and stay there! NOW!" Cagalli almost screamed as several missiles approached the Minerva, it's CIWS as well as the Murasames shooting them down.

"But why are you..."

"I saw everything. Yes, we may have had somewhat of a rough recent past, but I'm not going to sit back and just let the ship that saved thousands... if not millions of my own people's lives just get shot down because of some gun-hoe officer in Zaft's ranks! I owe you that much right now... please, for the sake of your own crew and their lives... I'm giving you temporary asylum... TAKE IT!" Cagalli replied fiercely, while Talia sighed and took off her hat, placing it in her lap.

"I see then..." She looked to Malik. "Take us there... I guess if you're giving us this option, we'll accept it."

"Thank you..." Cagalli said as Talia looked at her with a somewhat serious expression, while the Minerva's speed began to increase, the ship making its way towards ORB's Islands.

"Just one more thing..." The Captain began. "What the hell became of my Ace, Shinn? And of the Gaia? Tell me that!" She demanded.

"Shinn..." Cagalli laid her head back a little. "Is fighting for us now, if you want to know... as is the Gaia's pilot, Stella. Now, I have a nation to defend." Cagalli explained as the line was cut, the bridge bursting into gossip.

"Shinn? Defected?"

"How can that be? Just what the hell went down?"

"Well, at least the boy's okay then, if he's fighting." They whispered amongst themselves, getting on the Captain's nerves as she stomped her foot down.

"Idle chatter is prohibited on the bridge during a combat operation!" She stressed. "Bart, are any more Zaft machines targeting us down right now?"

"No ma'am. They're out of range..."

"I see..." She stood up. "Arthur, you have the bridge. Don't do anything to get us killed. I need to see the doctor for a second before I have a heart attack..." She huffed, walking up the steps towards the exit.

* * *

"Captain! Just what was that all about?" A very pissed off Athrun questioned, the Crusader moving back and rotating to it's right in order to block two green beam shots from the silver Demoness' shield. "ADMIRAL!" He backed off as the opposing suit fired what appeared to be a pink beam whip at the Crusader, which swung it's beam naginata across it's body to deflect the attack. "That's enough out of you!" Athrun grunted, returning fire on the Demoness with his two AF-6J "Hyper Fortis" Beam Cannons.

"Athrun, focus, we've got something more important on our hands right now!" Rey countered from a distance over the line, pointing the Legacy's backpack-mounted small DRAGOONs forward and firing upon the Veneficus. "These guys aren't going to go down without a fight!" The Veneficus ascended and tilted it's entire body forward so the beams flew under it's torso.

"Yes, I know that!" Athrun huffed while the Demoness continued it's assault on him, striking down with it's beam scythe onto the Crusader's naginata. "You know what, let's all regroup together, I want to set things straight and figure out just what's going on!" He pulled back a few feet and then proceeded to kick the silver gundam in the left leg with his right leg beam, which although it forced the Demoness back and allowed him to fall back, Athrun was greatly surprised afterwords with the results. 'That was a direct hit and the machine didn't lose a limb? What kind of technology are we dealing with?'

The four Zaft ZGMF-XxxS gundams seemed to group back together loosely, the Assassin and Colossus off a bit dealing with their own enemies, while the Crusader and Legacy stood back to back with weapon's drawn, their enemies approaching yet keeping their distance, and bow of the Archangel below them.

"Alright..." Athrun pressed a few keys onto his console, eventually bringing up man who was in charge of the Archangel. "What was that for? The positron blast and how you handled the Minerva?" He questioned, being a little rude as he did.

"Athrun Zala! Don't speak to me that way!" Kendan asserted.

"But Admiral! What good would firing the ship's Lohengrin at ORB do? Especially if we're to capture Djibril? And what about the Minerva?" Athrun inquired, still keeping an eye on the enemy gundams, which were currently engaging Zaft mass production models.

"It was a tactical move, boy! Not my fault that some of their military facilities sit in close proximity to their cities! Oh, and a correction: We're to capture _or _kill Djibril! I'll handle that traitorous ship later!" The Admiral gruffed back at the pilot.

"But..." Athrun coughed.

"Watch it!" Rey warned as the Crusader's sensors beeped off, a ball of what appeared to be purple beam energy with a bright golden yellow core flying through the air towards the Crusader, although it flew over the head of the machine, as if it was thrown poorly.

"Dammit!" Athrun looked at where the energy orb had came from, finding his target quickly. The black and red winged gundam with a glowing red and yellow internal frame peaking through in several places was currently 'generating' those orbs in it's hands and whipping them in Athrun's direction from a distance, although from what Athrun could guess, the pilot was just learning how to use the weapon for the first time. "Alright then, Admiral..." He nearly spat bitter acid, judging by his voice.

"Just think about how much damage Lord Djibril could do if he gets away. That's why I gave the order... Athrun Zala." Kendan responded in a calm and collected manner before turning off the line.

'Telling me things I already know, Admiral... still... what you did...' The Crusader broke it's double-bladed beam saber back and stored both individual handles away, only to reach for it's custom beam rifle.

"Athrun, Heine, Luna!" Rey alerted, the Legacy blocking a beam rifle hit from the Veneficus with it's left beam shield. "I'll go after this one. Athrun, take out the other one that looks like it. Heine and Luna should handle the other ones, alright?" He asked, side stepping to the right and firing the respective beam rifle as he did.

"Sounds good... however, a fair warning about the silver one. For some reason close ranged attacks with beam don't work on it." Athrun warned, breaking away from the Legacy and thrusting ahead with his beam rifle pointed sideways, letting out several shots at the Judicator.

"Oh, really now?" Heine snickered, the shoulder armor of the Assassin popping open again as the suit activated it's mirage colloid and vanished.

"That's fine with me! I'll show them!" Lunamaria answered, taking out an approaching Murasame with her chest cannon, the blast powering right through the Murasame's torso.

"Hmmph..." Rey murmured. 'Seems like we got it all figured out...' He thought, firing both beam rifles one after the other in succession as the Veneficus 'stepped back' to it's right and left to dodge, replying back to Rey with a shot from each of it's wing cannons in the process, Rey blocking one of them and evading the other.

"Shinn... stick close to me... and who is piloting each of these machines? Which one is Athrun in?" Kira inquired, backing away from the Legacy as the Zaft machine prepared a full burst from all of it's forward weapons. 'Damn...' Kira thought, opening the Veneficus' wings up and evading the shots, twisting, swerving, and rolling in the air to avoid taking damage, only to double back and combine both of his beam rifles together, end to end and fire them off at the Legacy, the forward barrel letting out a 'shot gun' blast of smaller, weaker beam bolts, the Legacy ascending up and to it's right in order to evade.

"Athrun... is in this one." Shinn grit his teeth while absorbing several oncoming beam shots from the Crusader with his right beam shield. "And Rey... Rey Za Burrel is in the other machine!" The Judicator raised it's right arm and generated another beam orb from it, tossing the ball directly at the Crusader, which seemed to easily bash it away with it's beam shield. "Err... who the hell designed a ranged weapon like this?" The red eyed coordinator barked and complained as he was forced to evade a pair of shots from the Crusader.

"That's why I said stay back and try to get the hang of it first, Shinn! Alright, if that's Athrun's machine..." Kira gave off a regretful sigh, losing his focus for a split second, only to snap back in an instant as the Legacy unleashed a burst from it's twin RL-532 "Xiphias Drei" Rail Cannons and lone RL-223 "Calidus" Multi-Phase Beam Cannon. "Gah!" He screamed, the Libertas Veneficus blocking the salvo but not having enough forward momentum to resist being violently pushed back in the air while in the process.

"Kira... you okay?" Shinn asked with worry as the Crusader outright unleashed it's Fatum-10 lifter and launched it at the Judicator, all beams on the device activated in the process. "Damn you!" Shinn swore while raising the feet of his machine over it and stomping it down, the lifter and main body of the Crusader moving together to link back up, giving Shinn some time. "Alright, play time's over, Athrun!" Shinn growled, each hand of the Judicator reaching up and over it's head in order to grab onto the handles of the two stored anti-ship swords located there, bringing them forward out of their holsters and unfolding them to reveal a pair of two dark blue, almost twenty-six meter long blades. Of these two blades, three beams erupted on each. One of them was green, and it ran the outer cutting edge, starting and covering the handle only to extend all the way to where the tip began. The tip emitted a volatile, powerful dark purple beam as well as an energy orb inside the indent of it. The last beam of each sword was also green of the same shade as the first, and it ran the back length of the blade down to the handle. "Alright, face me!" Shinn roared, bringing the right-handed blade across the Judicator's body and swinging the left one behind it, under the respective wing as it burst forward and ignited both it's thruster and wings of light, rushing at the Crusader.

Athrun's eyes widened somewhat due to the larger machine, which was emitting a very prominent particle effect, although that did not deter him from preparing for melee combat by storing his beam rifle back and taking out his beam naginata once more, keeping the blade behind his suit's body while swinging his multi-purpose shield forward against the Judicator while it swing across with it's right anti-ship sword, the two weapons conflicting with each other and forcing their respective gundams to deflect to their left in a ninety degree turn.

"Arrgh!" Shinn quickly turned around and came right back at Athrun. With that, the Crusader attempted to perform an uppercut attack with it's naginata, however the Judicator interrupted this by rotating it's left arm back up and blocking Athrun's blade with the beam on the back side of his anti-ship sword. Right after that Shinn swung from the side with his right handed blade, and Athrun stretched out the Crusader's left arm to block with the beam shield on it, the two machines locked neck and neck in combat.

"Who's piloting that anyway?" Athrun quickly reached up and pressed a few keys on his controls to open up his communications lines. "What's happened to ORB anyway? Why are they doing this? It doesn't make any sense!" He complained.

"You're the one who's attacking so shut up!" Shinn responded, breaking away and attempting to strike back, the Crusader rising upwards a few meters in confusion as the Judicator pulled back it's right arm again and prepared for a swing.

"That voice? SHINN? What? Why are you in that machine?" Athrun questioned, kicking forward with his right foot to block the beam on the front of the Judicator's right anti-ship sword.

"Yes, it's me! And I'm in this machine so I can deal with you!" Shinn backed off again, only to swing upwards and diagonally with his left arm, sending another dark purple and yellow energy ball at the Crusader, which front flipped to avoid the attack, albeit barely.

"And Kira's in that machine, just so you know! Just to screw you up a little more!" Shinn warned as the Crusader came at him again and the two suits clashed the weapons in the right arms against each other.

"Kira... Kira's alive and fighting?" Athrun questioned frantically. 'I **have** to talk to him, I **have **to reason with him, but first I **must** shake Shinn off...'

* * *

'So Athrun's in that red machine... and someone named Rey is in this machine...' Kira thought to himself as the Legacy and Veneficus stared each down, the light gray gundam shifting to it's right, firing it's abdomen cannon, and then raising it's right arm in anticipation for return fire, which was received as Kira shot back with both of his beam rifles one after the other, their accurately aimed shots striking the Legacy's blue beam shield and pushing it back a bit. 'Rey... Rey... Rey...' Thoughts raced through Kira's mind while his foe backed off to it's left and tried to increase the distance between the two ranged gundams. 'It looks like...' The Ultimate Coordinator focused on the Legacy a bit more, analyzing it's movement patterns, and the look of the machine in general. Suddenly, if only for a split second, the gundam belonging to the most skilled Ace Kira had ever fought, the ZGMF-X13A Providence gundam, superimposed itself onto the Legacy's body in Kira's reflective, dark lilac eyes. '… his machine...'

'If you're not going to be aggressive then I will.' Rey kept a stone cold expression, manipulating his controls and forcing the Legacy's into a forward dive towards the Veneficus, attempting to get underneath the black, winged machine.

"Damn! He's good." Kira groaned, shaking his head as if to snap out of a daydream, only to find his enemy quickly approaching the area beneath his gundam's feet. In reaction to this, Kira pulled up on his controls, hard, so much so that all four thrusters on the bottom portion of each of the Veneficus' feet, the thrusters on the skirt armor, shoulders, and backpack intensified several fold, the magnitude of the generated thrust pulling the Veneficus up quickly while the Legacy aimed the six small DRAGOONs on it's backpack upwards and fired twelve beams right towards Kira. However before the beams managed to hit the Veneficus, the Black Freedom quickly folded it's large, energy emitting wings backwards as if to flap them, thrusting forward and evading the large volley of harmful green beams as they passed behind where it was.

Following this move, Rey kept his unflinching expression and managed to flip the Legacy back over one hundred and eighty degrees so that the front side was now facing the Veneficus. As the targeting screen popped up, all of the blonde's cross hairs focuses in on a single point in front of the gundam, and with another fold of the small DRAGOONS, an activation of the two Rail cannons, and a calibration of each beam rifle, the Legacy unleashed a complete full burst, numerous bright, blazing beam rays and Rail gun discharges blitzing towards the Veneficus as Kira turned around, raised both hands up in front of his suit's body and activated their beam shields, Rey's bombardment striking the dark blue barriers with such massive force that the Veneficus was thrown higher into the air and out of control.

"Ugh... arrr..." Kira groaned in pain from the g-forces as he worked to both stabilize his machine and avoid more damage from Rey, however the FAITH pilot had now switched from ranged combat to melee, and was charging right towards Kira head on with both of his beam sabers drawn in each hand and at the ready.

"Alright, lets see how powerful you are when I get up close..." Rey hissed, the Legacy's backpack halves bent backwards and all of it's additional thrusters activated as it blitzed towards a still recovering Kira, attempting to take a horizontal swing across it's body with it's right arm as it got close, swinging the limb quickly towards the black and blue mobile suit.

"Not... quite..." Kira fussed, leveling the Veneficus off in a nick of time and raising it's left arm out, the forearm striking against the Legacy's right hand and preventing it from moving forward, causing no damage. Right after that the Legacy raised it's left arm up and tried to swing it down onto the Veneficus' head, only to end up blocked as Kira kicked upwards with his machine's right foot, the toes connecting with the Legacy's elbow, giving Kira a chance to move backwards and get out of melee range, at least for a couple seconds. Knowing that he didn't have much time until Rey came at him again, the brunette acted fast and placed both of his unique beam rifles back onto their respective skirt armors and then reached towards the suit's back, drawing out his own dark blue beam sabers and charging forward as Rey did the same, both machines locking beam blades together.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an unknown underground location in the ORB Union:

The ever impatient Lord Djibril sat in a room overlooking the shuttle launch bay, his arms crossed together and his left foot periodically tapping the ground at a frequency of about 1.4Hz. The lead Logos member wore an upset and disgusted grimace across his aristocratic face, looking off out the window to observe the ORB personal that were loyal to the Seiran family as they prepared his shuttle for take off. Despite his love for Paladin, he wasn't even looking at the fluffy, overweight black feline, who sat on the ground, it's front legs propping up it's forward body while it looked at it's weary owner with glazed eyes.

Paladin then blurted out an excited meow, as if he wanted attention, yet Djibril ignored his pet completely. "Meow." He went again, and although Djibril's eyes tensed up slightly and his foot tapping increased in its frequency ever so slightly, a vein of annoyance appearing just a little on the right side of his face, directly under the ear. "Meow." Paladin cried once more, and the third time was the charm.

"WOULD YOU STOP IT!" Djibril roared from above, and in the blink of an eye he turned his attention towards Paladin, his left eye twitching ever so slightly.

"Meow..." Paladin backed down, frightened but the ever so sudden hostility, only to turn away and walk towards another part of the room.

"God dammit... what's taking so long? It's just a shuttle. In this day and age it should take minutes, not hours, to prepare one! Err!" Djibril lifted his tapping foot up high and slammed it down onto the metallic floor.

"Meow!" Paladin seemed to his this time, and although Djibril wanted to have an episode of rage, he was halted, as someone unexpected entered the room. "Meow!"

"Quiet!" Djibril ordered. "Ah, Yuna Roma. What brings you here right now?" Djibril asked as the young Prince took his seat near Djibril and crossed his legs while placing his arms over and behind his head.

"Djibril, I knew I'd find you here"

"As if it wasn't obvious..." Djibril answered.

"Heheh... yes... considering the current state of ORB, thanks to a certain nose picking Chairman." Yuna blurted in a comical fashion.

"Get to the point, Seiran. My shuttle should HOPEFULLY be ready any minute now." The Logos member cast a daring glare towards the guards. "And I intend to leave the Earth and take my place among the stars... for the purpose of casting a great Requiem." The Lord chuckled the last bit.

"Oh, I know. Just... you inspired me earlier, with your words, I mean, back at my father's mansion."

"I did, didn't I?" Djibril questioned.

"Most certainly. I felt like I was paying attention to a man who knew what he was doing, and when he was doing it. A proud, educated, and skillful leader who is not afraid to go against public opinion for the sake of doing what's right. I admire you, Djibril. I understand where you're coming from, and I agree with you. However, the thing is... I intend to leave with you, if you don't mind." Yuna smirked, although in a friendly fashion.

"What? Why would you do that? Don't you already have someone down here waiting for you? Considering how you managed to get a hold of her?" Djibril turned somewhat towards Yuna, interested in conversing with the purplette.

"Oh, her... I think all of this is said and done, I'll deal with Cagalli. Once she knows what I'm capable of, that is."

"Huh, love can wait, I guess. Still, why do you wish to take part in my journey? The places I am going to... are no place for a Prince like yourself."

"Oh, don't flatter me." Yuna joked. "I commanded the ORB forces at the Dardanelles, remember?"

'And you failed miserably at it... a hefty setback on our part.' Djibril thought.

"I'm perfectly clear for space travel, friend. But... if you want to know why I'm coming with you, I think you'll allow it."

"Oh, and why's that?" Djibril inquired in a stern tone, reaching for answers.

"Because, there's the ORB forces in space... and if I'm out there, I could... you know... hehe... potentially take reign over them for you? After all, unless our bratty Princess decides to head up into space herself, she can't directly overthrow me, and from what I know... she no longer controls the Archangel."

"Uh huh..." Djibril smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"And although we do have some Izumos in reserve down here, I don't think that it'll be enough to get past Zaft after they realize you've left ORB. It's the perfect plan, don't you see?"

"I see..." Djibril spoke heavily.

"Brilliant, ain't it? I certainly am brilliant..." Yuna giggled.

"Oh, alright then, fine. You can come with me... I'm certain that this plan of yours can prove somewhat useful, and I doubt the ORB forces in space are going to be little more than deaf ears when I speak." Djibril turned back towards the shuttle. 'Well, he is a Prince of ORB... he'll be useful one way or another.'

* * *

"Ahh!" Lunamaria screamed violently, the ZGMF-X35S Colossus raising up both it's large, blood red beam cannons under it's shoulders and folding them into shotgun mode, firing them in tandem with it's shoulder-mounted beam Gatling guns, an almost infinite amount of small beam shots horizontally raining across the battlefield towards several ORB mass production models, and while some of them did manage to raise their shields, those defenses only covered part of their body, while other areas were exposed, and subsequently, suffered direct hits. Folding her cannons back up Luna spotted a lone Murasame coming at her from below, pumping out numerous green lasers from it's ranged weapons while it tried to come up below the Colossus. "Why you! I've fought in space, and air combat is practically the same thing besides the different g-forces!" She admitted, pulling back as the prismatic beam shields mounted on her machine's knees activated and spread their defensive fields out, intercepting the shots. "So take this!" A large, powerful beam erupted from the Zaft gundam's chest, blazing towards the Murasame, and although it tried to evade the shot, it still suffered a hit to it's right wing and was thrown off balance due to that. "Good enough, now back to work." She commented, only to have her radio beep on seconds later, revealing her sister's face. "Meyrin!"

"Luna! Are you alright? I mean... are you..."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry, Meyrin. I'm fine." Luna responded, looking into her sibling's eyes and noticing that she seemed to be worried or distressed, desiring the ability to inform her elder sister of something new. "What's up? Have we managed to secure the target yet?"

"I wish." Meyrin tilted her head to the side. "I've got new orders for you, since you're apparently 'doing well out there' as the Captain says."

"And? What does he... what does he want me to do?" Luna paused, noticing the look on her sister's face.

"Go and... sink the Minerva. That's what he said." The feed of Meyrin tilted it's head towards the Captain's chair, the sound of an affirmative 'yes' echoing in the background, coming from a masculine voice.

"The Minerva... but?" Lunamaria swallowed at the very thought, only to pull back on the Colossus and move away from the front lines a tad, for her own safety, as Meyrin disappeared and Kendan took her place.

"Miss Hawke..." The Admiral began. "Are you willing to carry out your duties as a soldier or not?" He requested, stoic and demanding in his expression.

"Um... well... why the Minerva? Isn't our target-" She barely managed to speak.

"Yes, however that machine you have has the possibility of dealing too much damage to ORB." Kendan rolled his eyes. "In addition to this, the Minerva seems to be sitting by itself near ORB's coast... as to why, I don't know, by they're not threatening it, from what I can tell, and something like that cannot be allowed to continue. Do you understand?"

"Yes... sir... whoa! AHH!" A horrified Lunamaria Hawke shook her head in surprise as a pair of bright verdant beams passed by the front of her suit, her nerves pulling the machine back in the nick of time.

"What the hell is going on right now? Miss Hawke..." Kendan demanded.

"Ugh... I'm engaging an enemy mobile suit right now. Sorry, Admiral..." She quickly flipped off the communication lines, right in his face.

"Why that..." He turned towards Mary, the radar operation. "Is the Colossus actually engaging an enemy mobile suit? And what kind?"

"Uhh... yes, she's engaging one of the new ORB models, one on one, Captain." Mary answered.

'Luna... fighting one of ORB's top notch...' Meyrin squeezed her right hand.

"Understood. Have Heine assist her. The two of them should be able to take that machine out no problem." Kendan issued.

"Aye, Captain."

* * *

"Is it the same one as before?" Lunamaria questioned, unfolding her right beam cannon into it's sniper rifle mode and firing off a shot, aimed directly at her golden opponent, the blast deflecting off of the Sovereign's right chest and bouncing away, blitzing past the Colossus' left arm. "So it isn't a fluke... shit!"

"You're not going any further, sorry!" Cagalli grit her teeth, and with a flick of it's arm the Sovereign targeted the Colossus with it's left shield and fired away, unleashing one pair of beams which were deflected and then moving to try and get behind Lunamaria's machine.

"Err..." Luna grunted, knowing full well that this machine was like no other. She quickly evaded the first pair of offensive shots and then pressed a couple of buttons on her controls, activating all four of the Colossus' MX2343 "Prisma" Beam Shields, and then crossed her left arm over the machine's body to block another pair of shots. "Dammit! Well then... ugh... have some of this!" She frantically opened fire with her head mounted CIWS, the Sovereign rolling and twisting in the air for the sake of making evasive actions, all the while closing the gap between the two machines with beam fangs at the ready.

"I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have attacked ORB if the first place if you didn't want to have to face the consequences that come with pissing someone like me off!" The Lioness warned, striking down with her right armed shield, and roaring in the process, only to have Luna block it with her left arm, although it appeared that the Colossus was on the back foot.

"Ahh... why won't you just..." Luna fumbled unleashing additional fifteen point five meter CIWS shells at the Sovereign, aiming for the head.

"I've fought Kira one too many times to know what that move is..." Cagalli responded while tilting the Sovereign's head away in order to block the shells from damaging the optics and sensors, the Elegant Sovereign's armor blocking the point defense weapon fire while Cagalli swung inwards with her left arm, and Luna blocked the attack, but just by a little bit. "NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF ORB AND TAKE THE REST OF YOUR FRIENDS WITH YOU!"

"Rooooarrrrr... NO!" Luna pushed back and then kicked the Sovereign in the side of it's left leg with the Colossus' right foot. "No, no, no! You're not doing that again!" She deactivated the beam shields on her arms and proceeded to reach for the Colossus' most powerful weapon: the two individual parts that formed it's LC-1000PC "Kristallnacht" Compact Mobile Suit Positron Cannon, took them off of the side skirts and combined them together, several light indicators flashing on while the two gundams gained distance, the vibrating periodic noise made by a cannon of that type buzzing in the air.

"That's foolish, I already..." Golden eyes opened their lids as the Sovereign's sensors went off, warning Cagalli of the danger. "... an anti-matter gun? For crying out loud!"

"Now take this!" Luna yelled, unleashing the blast of powerful positrons, the beam causing the air around it to explode due to the reaction as the shot headed directly for the Sovereign, but Cagalli was too good to take a hit like that, and managed to gain some height, enough height. The beam then went on to ignite the sky and blaze throughout the battlefield, taking out a few ORB mobile suits that were behind the Sovereign.

"That's... too powerful..." Sweat rolled down the blonde's face as she realized that something else had taken place besides that cannon shot. For some reason, the flare-like device mounted on the Sovereign's backpack, on it's upper left side, had been severed in all the commotion, and an object that appeared to be a blur or distortion of the air was now making its way towards the Colossus as Lunamaria stored her cannons back, a somewhat smug look on her face.

"Luna... you alright?" Heine questioned, the shoulder armor of the Assassin closing back up as it came out of stealth with one of it's beam blades drawn in it's right hand.

"Fine... just dealing with this one..." She gave the golden gundam a mean look, the two of them moving apart as an additional pair of beam blasts intervened in their conversation, although these ones did not come from Cagalli.

"Ahh! There you are! I was wondering where the machine with mirage colloid went! I know your secret!" Stella giggled... although in a pissed off way, the silver Demoness flying in next to it's golden sibling, it's staff extended and in hand while purple beams blazed from each end.

"Her again..." Heine growled. "I was trying to take care of their ground forces... and she got in the way. Then I was ordered to help you! Watch out, it's a tough one." Heine warned as Stella approached him straight on, thrusting the spear end of her staff forward, the Assassin raising it's left arm and evading the strike while he beam passed under it safely.

"Understood. Wasn't that the one Athrun warned us about? In that case then..." Luna fumbled around with her controls, preparing her weapons for fire.  
"No you don't!" Cagalli intervened, performing a corkscrew in the air and coming between the Demoness and Colossus while Luna fired a chest cannon blade, the beam striking the Sovereign and deflecting away, forcing Luna to evade her own shot, the four of them now engaged in a brawl, high above the area where the Minerva was resting.

* * *

The ORB-04 Judicator tilted it's head back in order to avoid an overhead swing from the Crusader's beam naginata, only to strike upwards with it's left arm, the anti-ship sword meeting the same blade that had recently been used against him. Athrun's next move was to thrust his AJ-001S "Abwehr" Combined shield forward with it's beam boomerangs activated, the Judicator raising it's right arm upwards and intercepting the beam with the back half of it's other large sword.

"This is ironic... it really is..." A very bitter Athrun sparked as he he attempted to kick upward with his right leg, forcing Shinn to either break away or take damage, the red eyes coordinator taking the former option as the two gundams distanced themselves.

"What's ironic, Athrun?" An equally moody Shinn buzzed back, thrusting his blue, left handed blade forward completely while the Crusader moved back to avoid suffering from the weapon's massive reach, giving off a two-shot salvo from it's Fatum-10 cannons. "Huh? Well!?" Shinn continued while raising his free hand and blocking the blasts with it's beam shield as the Crusader turned to it's right and ignited it's engines to move away.

"I'll let you figure that one out later, but for now..." Athrun grumbled, watching the duel between the Legacy and Libertas Veneficus in the distance. "... Kira... doesn't have to be this way..." He muttered to himself, the words so weak that they were not picked up by the transmission microphones.

"For now what? You bring something like that up and then hold back?" Shinn questioned, swinging both blades across the Judicator's body one above the other, in succession, and launching a pair of beam energy balls at the Crusader. "What's wrong with you?" He asked assertively while the Crusader turned half way towards the Judicator and stored it's beam sabers back in their holsters, reaching for the pair of shoulder-mounted beam boomerangs it had above as Shinn closed in, leaving a blazing trail behind him in the form of his wings of light. "Or are you just being an ass?" The ORB gundam closed in while the Crusader activated both AJ-M77M "Return" Beam Boomerangs swing it's arms to the left side, so as to throw them to the right in a second. "Well?" A very annoyed Shinn continued his pseudo-interrogation while the Crusader flung it's two arms to the right at the approaching, darker machine. 'Oh damn...' Shinn thought, pulling back on the controls and bringing the Judicator to a halt so he could pull out a defensive pose to deflect the beam boomerangs only to find that... they weren't actually launched. "Yeah, you're being an ass!" A pissed off Shinn Asuka commented while Athrun used the velocity gain he had over Shinn to power towards Kira and Rey, storing boomerangs back onto his suit's shoulder. 'Fake me out like that, dammit!' Shinn grunted, powering forward again towards the other three gundams.

"Kira! Kira! And Rey! Stop this! NOW!" Athrun yelled across the communication lines as he intercepted the two blue machines in the middle of their fight and forced them to break off from one another, the Crusader coming to a defensive halt in between both of the machines.

"Athrun... Zala..." Kira said softly towards the other pilots.

"What?" Shinn blinked twice, coming to a stop some distance away from the other thee mobile suits, but closer to the Veneficus, both ORB machines closing their wings shut and deactivating the particle effects in them. "Kira why are you...?"  
"Shinn! Shut it!" The Veneficus turned it's black, metal head towards the Judicator, giving the gundam a quick glance, focusing on the Legacy and Crusader right afterwords. "Athrun..."

"Athrun? We'll try to..." Rey quickly attempted to give out tactical orders, only to have the Crusader quickly fall back and grab onto it's right arm with it's left hand to hold it.

"No! Rey! All of you! Enough of this! We don't need to be fighting like this!" He reasoned, scanning around the field and looking at the other three. "Kira... so you are alive... how? What happened?"

"Have you ever heard of a lie, Athrun?" Shinn questioned.

"Hmm?" Rey mumbled.

"Shinn?" Athrun's eyes popped slightly.

"Because that's what happened. Sorry to say it but I flat out lied in my report about Operation Angel Capture. Is that too hard to believe? Is it?" He asked in a harsh tone, as harsh as a brutal summer day upon one's mind and body.

"What? Shinn? You would..." Athrun shook his head in disdain. "And I thought something like that was above you, but apparently not."

"Big words coming from you of all..." Shinn nearly spat, the Judicator slicing through the air with it's right-handed anti-ship sword.

'So this is the real Kira Yamato and he survived... interesting. Now to see how things turn out. Athrun... let's hope you were right before, although I'm prepared if you weren't...' Rey thought to himself keeping to the back, gaining a distance from the Veneficus and it's ultra-accurate arsenal of ranged weaponry.

"Shinn! I said shut it! Now listen!" Kira barked, glancing at his black haired comrade yet again. "Athrun, what do you want? Tell me. Now."

"I think we should..." Rey tried to suggest as the Crusader let go of it and motioned towards the Veneficus by about twenty meters.

"Kira, listen to me. Do you know what you're doing? Do you know what you're inhibiting, by standing between Zaft and it's target right now? What could become of all this?"

"Athrun, I know what you say you're after, but there's more to it then that." Kira responded, the limbs of the Veneficus tensing up in anticipation.

"Like what? We're here for Djibril? Is that too hard to comprehend? Is it? Is it really?"

"Athrun..." Kira growled.

"LOOK! This may be the Lacus in me speaking... but we don't need to fight each other, I'm sure if we give each other a chance to lay everything out and talk... we can end this, right now. I DON'T WANT to attack ORB! However, I WILL if it means Djibril is placed in the hands of Justice, as he deserves. I know you, Kira, and I know someone like you detests men like him."

"And yet yo-"

"That statement was made by Yuna Roma Seiran, a fool, if there ever was one! It wasn't made by you, it wasn't made by Cagalli, and all it did was escalate a battle that should have never taken place in the first place, understand." Athrun explained, only to have Shinn speak next.

"Why don't you just stop this non-"

"SHINN! I mean it! Athrun... Athrun... Athrun... Athrun... Zala..." Kira spoke, his volume lowering as he repeated that same name over and over. "I know what you're saying... I know what you're saying but it doesn't matter, because at this moment... Chairman Durandal..."

"Do you even know what the Chairman's true objective is? DO YOU REALLY KNOW THAT, KIRA?" Athrun yelled, his voice pushing Kira back in his chair somewhat, and causing him to open his eyes even more. "Because that's why I'm fighting right here and right now... to make that a reality..."

"I hope you don't know what you're talking about..." Kira muttered across the lines.

"Kira... no..." Athrun shook his head. This fight was far from over.

* * *

Minerva sick bay:

Captain Talia Gladys buttoned up her uniform and put on her hat, and proceeded to walk towards the exit of the medical room, the ship's doctor giving her a few final words.

"These are hard times for us all, Captain. While I didn't see what happened, from what I gather, you made the right decision... if only you never had to make such a decision in the first place. Such a shame." The doctor shook his head.

"Thank you... although you probably won't be calling me Captain for much longer... as sad as that sound-" Talia replied as she entire vessel seemed to shake and rumble, causing the Captain to nearly fall into the wall and forcing the doctor to take hold of some medical equipment for the sake of it not breaking. "What the hell is going on? I thought they said they were giving us asylum."

* * *

Back on the bridge:

The tremors had continued as Talia made her way back to her nervous bridge, filled with crew members who were worried sick to the bone.

"What the hell is happening! Arthur, status report! Now!" Talia brutally demanded, carefully walking down the steps and into her chair.

"Tubes three and four, launch! Reload all torpedo tubes following that!" The Executive Officer shouted. "Captain... incoming fire... from several Vosgulov-class submarines targeting the coast. Some of their shots are coming towards us and we're taking them out... that's what's making the shaking!"

"Dammit! They've managed to break though this far! What the hell is ORB doing? Judging by their movements... come on, give me an answer!"

"ORB forces are pulling back and attempting to consolidate their defense around several points. That's how those submarines have pulled in closer, ma'am." Bart informed.

"Understood... dammit..." Talia straightened herself up in the Captain's Chair, and then looked out the window, her eyes narrowing as she noticed the white and red behemoth closing in towards the shore with the rest of the Zaft fleet. "What's directly targeting us right now? And has the Archangel activated it's main weapons? I don't want to get hit because we listened, took a chance at 'asylum' and are now a sitting duck!"

"Besides two or three Vosgulov-classes... nothing right now, but more Zaft forces are closing in..." Bart warned.

"Alright then... Arthur, how are we doing on Wolframs?" Talia questioned.

"We've still got thirty-two left, ma'am. Launching around two per minute..."

"DAMMIT! Captain... ugh..." Bart blurted out. "Laser designators detected... from the Archangel."

"That bastard! Is he really that... err... I hope he gets court marshelled out of the military after all this is done, whether we live of die!" Talia righteously complained, turning towards the front of the bridge afterwords. "Fine then, if he wants to play that game, then it doesn't matter what side we're on... the Minerva isn't going down without a fight, and I don't care who's attacking us!" Talia ranted.

"Captain?" Arthur inquired.

"Raise ship immediately! Port twenty! We are engaging the Archangel! All weapons free!" The Captain commanded, with all of her authority, as the Minerva began to rush forward, tilting upwards and bursting out of the ocean as it's massive wings and powerful nuclear pulse thrusters carried her upwards, the ship taking a turn to it's port soon after to go bow-to-bow with it's new enemy.

* * *

Archangel Bridge:

"I knew you'd make a move Gladys. However you've performed far too many inappropriate actions, and it's time I taught you a lesson you will _never, ever _forget." Kendan clenched his teeth and tightened his fists, observing the oncoming warship in the distance.

"Captain... Admiral... are we seriously going to go after..." Executive Officer Dubu questioned.

"Damn rights we are. Five to starboard! Lower bow fifteen! Activate all functioning weapon systems. We will now destroy the Minerva!" Kendan ordered.

"Aye..." Erin mumbled, clearing his throat. "Prepare Igelstellungs for interception! Helldarts to standby mode! Stern missile launchers are to load Wombats. Gottfrieds and Valiants... target the Minerva!" Erin issued, the rear missile launchers of the Archangel opening their flaps as the two pairs of primary guns for the ship opened up and extended outwards into firing position.

* * *

"Activate CIWS! Launchers one through ten, load Dispars. Aim Tristans and Isolde! Target the Archangel!" Arthur listed as the Minerva's twelve 40mm interception guns coming online, it's missile launchers lifting open to reveal explosive projectiles, the two double beam cannons of the Minerva calibrating up and down to lock onto their target as the lone triple beam cannon rose up at and angle and extended all three of it's barrels outwards, both vessels closing in on each other, meter by meter, second by second.

* * *

"_**Now fire!**_" Kendan yelled.

"_**Engage**_!" Talia signaled.

And with that, the battle between heavy warships begun, beams and missiles shot from their respective guns and launchers, the Archangel and Minerva exchanging heavy fire as their respective point-defense guns works to knock out missiles and their helmsman tried to evade everything else, a cloud of smoke appearing in front of the Minerva as linear shot from one of the Valiants struck it's bow, off to the side of the Tannhauser shutter. However the smaller ship was not to be taken lightly, and performed the same, only this time two of the Isolde beams struck the Archangel's port leg and the third blitzed towards the center section.

As the Phase comes to an end, both ships crossed by each other, scoring a direct hit on the others hull with their respective double beam cannons...


	11. Phase 40: Allegiances

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Fic is now just over 1 year old. Throwing that out there for the sake of it.

Last chapter was short. This chapter isn't even done yet (while I'm writing this) and it exceeds the last's count. This chapter is actually the longest of this branch of the fic, at 21k words (wrote this part when it's in FF editing). Story wise though it isn't, because if you scroll _all _the way down, you'll see I copy/pasted the ORB-0x machine specs there, which is completely skipable if you don't care/already know them. So in reality, this chapter is 15-16k words long.

Directed at Fireminer: Yes, this is your lucky day. I love warship on warship battles. In fact, I'll go as far as to say the crappy movie known as _Star Trek: Nemesis _(Rotten Tomatos gave it 37%) is partially redeemed because of it's end battle, as one sided as it was. I like em that much =D

* * *

Bursts of fire and glimmers of beams sparked and ignited the entire battlefield, consisting of the sea just to the south of the ORB Union, and the shores of it's main island. ORB mobile weapons, consisting of mainly transformable Murasames and fixed-form Astrays, although there were a few outdated tanks and fixed-defensive turrets, stood their ground against the ferocious onslaught of malformed, humanoid shaped machines, belonging to the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty. Amphibious models, such as the UMF/SSO-3 ASH, UMF-4A GOOhN, and long-armed UMF-5 ZnO burst from the ocean onto unwelcoming shores, raising their defenses and offenses while they battled the white and orange mobile suits, neither side showing any sign of weakness, nor the intention of giving their enemy quarter. As all of this went on, the top brass of the ORB Military, consisting of officers like Colonel Soiga and his comrades, observed the battle from a secure, well-guarded, and fortified location known as Defense Headquarters, making quick, but educated moves in an attempt to turn the battle in their favor, and push back the aggressive legions of Zaft.

"Hiyamatsumi has been destroyed! Toyamatsumi is immobile!"

"Sixth Mobile Core to the Izanagi Coast! I repeat: Sixth Mobile Core defend Izanagi!"

"What's the status of our search?" Colonel Soiga began. "Where the hell is this 'Lord Djibril' character hiding anyway?"

"We're searching, but the Seirans seemed to have left no tracks... we don't even know where Lord Yuna Roma is, Colonel!"

"Well that's just great..." Soiga snarled. "He's hiding and we have to protect him... get Lord Yanata Ema on the line, right away!"

"On it, sir!" One of the lower-ranked soldiers replied.

"Have the Third Mobile Core assist Lady Cagalli's Sovereign immediately!"

"Are there any signs of a drop fleet preparing themselves in high orbit?" One of the higher-ups sitting at the planning table with a map of ORB questioned.

"No sir, it seems that whatever Zaft was going to send at us, is already here."

"Understood. Divert mobile suit teams assisting from the far north-west side of the main island. Have them flank the Zaft forces from the west, and step on it!"

"Colonel Soiga, I've just received a status update regarding Lord Yanata Ema Seiran. He's taken shelter inside the Seiran bunker and is oblivious to the whereabouts of his son or Lord Djibril!"

"Wonderful!" Soiga sarcastically spat. "Where the hell are they? Find then! All sections, status report!"

"Section Nine, I'm reporting no sign of Djibril!"

"Section Ten, nothing out of the ordinary!"

"Damn..." One of the officers at the central table, a bald male with a long and respectively groomed white beard swore, lowering his head and looking down onto the map, only to find something quiet unusual. "Hold on a minute! Didn't Lady Cagalli inform us that the denounced Zaft vessel was to stick to our coast?"

"Uh, yes..." Colonel Soiga turned, his mouth partially open as he spoke.

"Well she's moving!"

"That's a violation of the terms of asylum Lady Cagalli issued! Has she opened fire on our forces?" Another one of the higher ups asked, his tone one of a cynical skeptic.

"Towards the south from what I can see, and at combat speeds... wait... I'll be damned... she's fighting the Archangel, not our forces, sir!" The bald man spoke again.

"The Zaft ship has advanced forward?" Soiga tightened his grip, knowing full well that the amount of effort ORB would have to divert towards sinking the Archangel would be a severe detriment to their forces, even if they were successful.

"If' she's going to be that defiant then have the Seventh Mobile Suit Core eliminate her." Another, younger officer suggested.

"Belay that!" Soiga slammed an open right fist onto the table, right in front of the younger soldier. "We need everything we got right now. As long as it doesn't attack _our forces_!"

"But... Lady Cagalli ordered... and..."

"Lady Cagalli is fighting right now, contacting her would serve only as a large distractant! Besides, if she let them in this close, it means she trusts them..." Soiga explained, several other officers nodding their heads, realizing the severity of the current battle.

* * *

Back on the battlefield:

"Parsifals, fire!" Arthur Trine shouted from the Minerva as she made a sweeping turn to her starboard, the port missile launchers of the ship discharging a number of anti-ship missiles, the sky around the vessel almost seeming to ignite with the explosions of the battle.

* * *

"Helmsman, evade them! Thirty to port!" Admiral Kendan Westenfluss waved his right hand across his front while the Archangel lurched in response to the Minerva's aggression.

"Helldarts, launch and intercept!" Executive Officer Dubu added, several small, quick, and highly maneuverable projectiles ejecting from the Archangel's 'neck' at high speeds, colliding dead on with the Parsifals and exploding right behind the Archangel, leaving a large cloud in her wake. "Valiant one, calibrate and fire, now!" The starboard Linear Cannon rotated backwards and adjusted itself to the right height, launching a bright yellow blast from it's barrel that rushed towards the Minerva at high speeds, crashing into the center of her port hull dead on, greatly shaking the smaller vessel.

Following this, two black and purple BABIs, in mobile armor mode, swooping in towards the Minerva's bow, launching their own volley of missiles onto the ship from above while it's CIWS turned their attention towards blasting them out of the sky. Despite this, some of the projectiles stuck the Minerva's hull, specifically in the middle of the starboard wing and the area just in front of the central catapult, narrowly missing the ship's Isolde. All the while Admiral Westenfluss watched from his seat, looking to his right with a snarky grin as he observed his new enemy, knowing that he had the upper hand, while Gladys grit her white front teeth in pain and discomfort.

"Tristans, fire!" Arthur lurched forward, nearly slamming his torso directly into the console in front of him while the Minerva returned fire with it's starboard gun, decisively taking down one BABI and grazing the others left side.

* * *

Two opposing gundams, ORB's Demoness and Zaft's Assassin seemed to circle each other in an off-balance, elliptical pattern, each of them firing their respective beam weapons towards each other, with Stella giving off a pair of shots from what appeared to be the eyes of her Dragon-shaped silver shield with each trigger pull, and Heine returning the favor with his HA-M552RC "Draw" High-energy Beam Pistol, wielding one beam sword in his left hand as well.

"Well it seems Mr. Invisible has come out to play!" Stella growled childishly.

"A Westenfluss doesn't need stealth to take someone like you out!" Heine retorted as the two gundams tighten the length of their invisible minor axis, blitzing towards each other with the intent of a close quarters brawl, the Assassin raising up it's blade, ready to strike.

"We'll see about that! Against me, you won't last long!" Stella barked, placing the Demoness' shield over it's body while the two suits closed the distance gap, a flash of lightning taking place as Heine took his swing, a perplexed look on his face right afterwords.

"I could have sworn I got a direct hit to your wing..."

"That doesn't work! Know your enemy, jackass!" Stella circled back around and approached the rear of the Assassin, Heine's eyes widening as he noticed the silver gundam heading right for him, and preparing to hold her off if she got too close. "This is for harming Cagalli's masterpiece of a machine!" Stella warned, pulling back on her thrusters just as the Assassin turned with the intention of taking a beam rifle shot at her, and then proceeded to perform a very quick, three hundred and sixty degree turn, the spiked tail of the Demoness waving up and down in the wind as it impacted the chest of Heine's machine, knocking it off balance and throwing it down in the air. "HAH!"

"Heine!" Luna screamed from a distance.

"Huh?" A startled Stella noticed the bulky Colossus coming after her now, a powerful, multi-phase shot bursting from it's chest towards the metallic machine, the Extended pulling back and evading, only to have another shot come at her directly, forcing her to strafe to the right and evade it. "Who the hell are you! Your aiming seems uncomfortably familiar..." Stella tilted her head, a mental image of Lunamaria's old custom, purple Gunner ZAKU Warrior flashing for a quick second in her mind. "OH! You again!" She yelled over the communications line, purposely intending to reach the attention of Lunamaria, and get that attention she did.

"What? The Gaia's... not you again! I'll show you!" She unfolding her left beam cannon into it's sniper rifle mode and lines up her shot, unleashing another, even more powerful blast of energy right towards the Demoness.

"Err..." Stella grunted from stress, folding her left wing in and across the mobile suit's body, an array of bright blue dots activating and spreading across the outer wing as a massive beam shield protected it, Lunamaria's shot hitting home on the defenses and pushing the Demoness to her left while the beam blast seemed to 'flow' across the surface of the shield.

"Have another one!" Lunamaria unleashed an additional two beam shots, the verniers of her machine pushing forward purposely towards Stella as she was forced to either block of move out of the way. "And yet another one!" She folded the cannon back into it's storage mode and continued firing with her chest cannon.

"No... no... NO! How about you! Have some of...!" Stella raged, deflecting another beam blast and pushing forward with the Demoness, reaching for the staff stored on the suit's rear while Lunamaria closed in.

"No thanks!" The magenta haired FAITH pilot barked, unleashing a flurry of beam sparks from her Gatling guns and normal shells from her CIWS, a startled Stella forced to abort her attack and shield her machine with it's right wing shield as the shots intercepted, and Lunamaria closed in, raising the Colossus' legs and crashing the feet directly into the shield, the weight of a one hundred and fifteen metric ton machine being transferred partially to Stella and causing her to bash her helmet into the head rest of her seat as the Demoness was thrown back down, but not out. "And now!" Lunamaria unleashed yet another LC-778SC "Catharsis" Multi-phase Energy Cannon shot, simultaneously unfolding both large beam cannons out again into sniper rifle mode. All the while the last shot hammered the Demoness' beam shield, making the challenge of balancing the machine increasing difficult and capable of consuming greater time, exploding the main body from the wing in the process. "For the finish!" Lunamaria pulled her triggers. "Goodbye, bitch!" Two more massive energy lasers burst forth and blazed through the air towards the Demoness.

"AHH! NO! I'll stop you!" A certain golden mobile suit intervened, flying directly in front of the Demoness with it's large backpack facing the Colossus, the clear, almost glass like surface with engraved lightning becoming victim to the Zaft machine's shots, although they did nothing, and from the looks of it, seemed to be absorbed directly into the disk, it's trapped lightning bolts intensifying to a bright blue in the process, the machine turning around to face the Colossus as it guarded it's sibling, a small amount of light gray exhaust spewing from it's vents.

"Again with you?" Lunamaria questioned as he sensors beeped up, displaying multiple incoming hostiles, the FAITH pilot looking over to her right and spotting several Wave Rider Murasames heading her way. "Dammit!"

"Lady Cagalli! Let us handle this!" One of the pilots informed with the voice of a patriot, four Murasames closing in on the Colossus as it backed up and powered up it's pair of beam Gatling.

"Stella... are you alright?" Cagalli turned her attention towards the equalized Demoness, only to remember something important. "Wait! Hold back!" She twisted back around and looked at the Murasames as they flew in formation towards a lone Colossus, circling it as they all pointed their noses directly upwards and flew above Lunamaria's machine, switching into mobile suit mode and pointing their rifles down. "I said-!" A green beam flew out of nowhere and impacted the first Murasame in the back as a pink beam dart flew out from the same direction and pierced the second just above the back skirt armor, both machines falling.

"Izo! Nesla!" The third Murasame pilot screamed at the loss of his comrades, their deaths throwing him off balance, so much so that the Colossus was able to take advantage, turning the machine inside out with a burst of beam fire, a certain stealth mobile suit revealing itself seconds later with arms crossed in front of it's chest.

"That guy!" Cagalli grumbled.

"Him again!" Stella added.

"Couldn't even save those three... and from what I see, this is the Chief Representative of ORB? What a terrible leader!" The Assassin's pilot stated, the gundam shaking it's head in disgust as he said it.

"Why you! It's the guy from the Dardanelles! That orange GOUF! I'll 'terrible leader' your face, jackass!" Cagalli raged, angered by Heine's insult and pointing her left shield directly forward and her right directly out and off to the side as she burst forward towards the Assassin.

"Huh." Heine smirked, withdrawing both HA-M442CC "Quickblade" Ultra-Light Beam Blade. "Clearly you're over your head!" The Assassin stretched out both arms aggressively and ignited the multiple thrusters on it's back, bursting towards the Sovereign and clashing blades with the golden mobile suit in a flash of lightning.

"The Gaia... Stella's her name... now I'll settle this!" Lunamaria seemed to reach for one of her oversized beam sabers, Stella's eyes narrowing as she observed.

"You leave Cagalli's nation alone!" The blonde ranted, brandishing her double-bladed staff and thrusting forward at the Colossus.

* * *

Back with the Judicator, Veneficus, Crusader, and Legacy:

The four machines hovered in the air, still maintaining their positions as they were beforehand, although Shinn was tapping his right first finger on his console, sick of this nonsense.

'I'll shut up... if you says so, Kira...' Shinn mentally grumbled.

'He hasn't talked to the Chairman at all, there's no way he could be aware of the Destiny Plan...' Athrun reasoned with himself.

'Chairman Durandal is a nice guy up front, but a plotting, scheming figure below... I doubt he would expose his greatest plan to Athrun, not before revealing it to everyone. And besides, Athrun... you're too smart to fall for something like that, aren't you? But still...' At the same time, those thoughts went through Kira's head. "What do you mean 'No'? Are you saying you're aware of something that I'm not?"

"Exactly!" Athrun snapped his gloved fingers. "Looking at this whole mess from ORB's point of view, from the perspective that people like you and Cagalli see it, Zaft is simply gathering up the members of Logos, and perhaps you might think it as a scapegoat, I know. IT ISN'T! In the end... we hope to achieve something greater! Something that you are unaware of and blocking in your ignorance, Kira!"

"DAMMIT!" An enraged Kira Yamato swore. "ATHRUN. YOU. JUST. DON'T. GET IT!" He steamed. "I am not ignorant! I know about the snake in the grass plotting that Chairman Durandal has been doing and I know about utterly sick-minded idea known _as the Dest-"_ The Veneficus' sensors began to go berserk.

"You **dare **speak of the Chairman in such foul language? He is a greater man than what you could ever hope to be, given your immature attitude, _Ultimate Coordinator!_" Rey shouted, folding all of his small DRAGOONs forward and unleashing a barrage of twelve beams upon the Veneficus, which side stepped backwards to fully avoid the blast, all while shifting it's attention to the distanced Zaft machine.

"Rey!" Athrun protested. 'So, he does know? How... and Ultimate Coordinator...' The Crusader maintained itself in the air while the Legacy raised both of it's beam rifles and fired them in conjunction with it's Rail cannons at the dark Veneficus and it's focused pilot, who evaded once again.

"Rau Le Creuset..." Kira muttered to himself quickly storing his beam sabers and drawing both large, oddly shaped beam rifles, aiming his right-handed one outwards and upwards, targeting the Legacy.

"We fight once more..." Rey muttered at an equally low tone, a powerful beam blast bursting from the Legacy's abdomen cannon, blazing towards the Veneficus as it fired a dark, powerful beam from it's rifle, the two shots colliding together, pounding against one another, and eventually canceling each other out for good as the two suits engaged in another ranged brawl.

"NO! Stop it!" Athrun's sensors beeped.

"Shut up! Talking time is over! You've had your chance to try and pathetically convince someone who's not going to entertain your propaganda!" Shinn blurted as the Judicator opened up it's large black wings and burst forward, a long anti-ship sword at each of it's sides.

"Fine then!" Athrun rubbed his teeth together. "Come at me, you little hypocrite!" Crusader activated it's beam shield and beam naginata as it powered towards the other machine, the two of them either locking sword-to-saber or sword-to-shield while the other two found themselves embroiled at a range.

"I'm not going to let you destroy ORB and I'm not going to let you bring the world to the brink of destruction as you did before!" Kira announced, striking the Legacy's beam shield with multiple beam rifle shots.

"Hmm... I'm not as ambitious as the one before me, know that now. However, that doesn't mean I'm not your enemy, if this is your naïve outlook on the world!" Rey responded while the two machines took shots at each other, dodging or blocking their opponents attacks while the full burst targeting screen on the Legacy appeared in front of Rey's eyes it's radicals fixing on the Veneficus. "It's a shame we can't have you by our side. Athrun was optimistic about that, earlier. No matter... AHH!" Rey shouted, firing a salvo of all forward weapons at the Veneficus, Kira forced to perform numerous, difficult evasive moves in order to dodge all the beams, storing his rifles back at his sides.

"Too bad I have my own beliefs to abide by, and my own reasons to fight and protect." For a split second, an image of Cagalli appeared in Kira's mind and disappeared as he narrowed his gaze, closing in on Rey's machine completely empty handed as the opposing pilot let out more ranged fire at him.

"Reason's good enough to plunge humanity into chaos and despair? Where's your proof that the Chairman is the man you think he is?" Rey questioned, the expression on Kira's face clearly indicating that Rey's words were reaching him, and pissing him off.

"WHO'S TO SAY YOU'RE NOT DOING THE SAME THING!" Kira raged, coming up from below and slicing the Legacy's right Rail cannon with his beam saber, just as it was about to fire, jamming the gun and forcing a small explosion on the suit's side while Kira ascended, opening fire on Rey's machine with his CIWS.

"You think I'm going to fall for that one!" The blonde growled, and in a knee-jerk reaction, the Legacy raised it's right arm up and blocked the bullets... with it's rifle, the gun suffering many bullet holes and forcing Rey to throw it upwards as it exploded, pulling back and landing a direct kick on the winged gundam's chest with it's right leg. (Char clone; Char kick 8D)

"Ugh..." Kira grumbled as he was pushed back, holding onto his controls while the Legacy unfolded it's left Rail cannon and fired back, striking Veneficus' left side skirt and damaging it's rifle.

"Eye for an eye!" Rey spat, withdrawing one beam saber with his now-free right hand and going forward for the kill.

"Eat this!" Kira grunted in pain and resolve, quickly activating the four cannons on his backpack and pointing them all forward directly at the Legacy's torso while it tried to close in, Rey gasping in surprise, a light blue SEED crashing down and bursting into bits inside the blonde's eyes, quickly thrusting both arms forward and activating the pair of MX666 "Heiligen Schild" Beam Shield Generators on them Kira shot away.

"NAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Legacy's pilot gurgled on his own saliva due to the challenging momentum of the beams, their nearly point-blank energy overpowering the Legacy's multitude of forward thrusters and shoving the gundam back, increasing the distance between the two machines by at least one hundred and fifty meters by the time Rey shook his head and leveled off.

"Rey!" Athrun shouted with deep concern as he watched his friends battle in the corner of his eye.

"Don't look at them! Look at me!" Shinn warned remorselessly, the Judicator quickly raising both of it's massive anti-ship swords over it's head and bringing them down onto the stationary Crusader's beam shield with such massive force that the salmon-toned machine was brutally forced down and towards the oceans surface. "Now..." Shinn lowered his angle and almost dived after Athrun full speed, clashing the blade in his left hand against the Crusader's beam naginata as Athrun thrust his right fist upwards. "What the hell were you babbling like an idiot about earlier, anyway?" The red eyed coordinator interrogated.

Pressuring his thrusters, Athrun got to Shinn's altitude and forced his machine's right fist, and weapon forward so that the gundams were actually quite the distance apart, and leaning forward with outstretched arms, as they locked blades. "Calling me that just makes it all the more contradictory!"

"Makes what contradictory?!" Shinn broke off and pulled back his two massive blades as the Crusader prepared a downward slash with it's double-bladed saber.

"If it isn't obvious!" Sparks and lightning flew as the backside beam of Shinn's left blade met Athrun's main weapon. "How could you forget... how could you... EVERY TIME you called me 'out' on being a 'traitor' because I left ORB and went back to Zaft! And now... now look at yourself, piloting an ORB machine with an ORB Uniform on your back! What the hell happened to you, Shinn Asuka! I didn't like you but it never occurred to me that we couldn't depend on you!" Athrun ranted, causing Shinn to pause and lose his focus as he took in those exposing words.

"Wha... what... ARG!" Shinn let out a whiny shrill as the Crusader boosted all of it's engines up and rammed the Judicator's chest dead on with the flat part of it's shield, transferring many joules worth of kinetic energy to both mobile suit and pilot.

"Shinn! Damn..." Kira said, locked in a beam saber battle with the Legacy, both machines holding their arms stretched out and fighting from the longest distance that close-quarters would allow. 'I may have overestimated his first time control in that machine, and Athrun's no pushover...' The Legacy took a swing, swiping outwards with it's left hand, the pink beam met with the Veneficus' blue one and outright stopped while Rey came forward and attempted to swing down with his right hand, the Veneficus side stepping out of the strike at the last second and moving away from Rey's machine, heading towards the two other gundams, only to have his path blocked as a large array of beam ignited the path before him, their spread too high to go over quickly and too tight to fit through. "Dammit! You just keep coming... no matter how many times..."

"Until people like you learn to accept reality for what it is, and realize what needs to be done, I'll never stop!" A SEED mode Rey warned in a cold tone.

"_Why torment yourself? Saying: "Eventually... some day", how long have you been fighting? With your thoughts clouded by that brand of sweet poison?" _Similar words, from a person very similar to Rau himself, played like a requiem of sanity in Kira's mind, his eyes only snapping back open to block a direct hit from Rey's remaining beam rifle.

"We'll see about that..." Kira frowned, firing back at Rey, placing a saber in his right hand and activating the shield on his left as Rey unleashed another round of blasts from his central RL-223 "Calidus" Multi-Phase Beam Cannon at Kira. "WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT AFTER I'M THROUGH!" Kira boiled, charging forward directly into Rey's beam fire, his wings of light blazing in the wing as the white and red beam struck the shield and was blocked, dividing up and spreading while the Veneficus stormed forward unstoppably, the laser fading just as it got close.

"GAH!" Rey screamed for his life, pulling back on his controls.

"RAH!" Kira performed a diagonal slash with his beam saber, the blade cutting a shallow cavity into the Legacy's chest, disabling it's chest cannon and damaging the exhaust vents on it's right side, an attack that would have most certainly breached Legacy's Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor if Kira was in SEED mode; an attack that left the FAITH pilot huffing for breath after.

'I can see now why you've managed to stay alive all this time... but just wait... until we battle outside the atmosphere... it's coming... it's coming...' Rey thought.

Shinn swung upwards with his blue, right-handed blade, the Crusader tilting it's large shield below it's body to block the hit. "But! No! I didn't... you don't understand anything!" Shinn hollered.

"Don't understand?" An offended Athrun huffed, pressing in closer to the Judicator. "Indirectly and directly blaming me for most of the tragedies that's happened this war, specifically to ORB, and criticizing my actions about it at every open opportunity, and then leaving Zaft, only to switch allegiances? I think I understand everything now..."

"Jackass!" Shinn hastily, and predictably, as if in a fit of uncontrolled rage, swung down with his left blade, the Crusader backing up and kicking up with it's right AJ-Q15A "Stolz" Beam Blade to intercept.

"Exactly! If that's all you can muster then so be it! If you want me to be your enemy, then I'll fight you and kick you down and out!" A green SEED burst into a storm of sparkling bits inside Athrun's eyes, the Crusader unleashing a volley from it's two Fatum-10 cannons directly at Shinn, who raised his swords and shields to block the attack, but that was only the start. "SAAAAAAA!" Athrun roared, quickly flipping over and striking down on the Judicator's beam shields with his left leg beam, shoving a non-SEED mode Shinn back.

"Jeez..." Shinn tried to keep his eyes open, only a sliver of distance between his eyelids.

"Is that it? Is that all you are? What you are? A little, whiny, bitchy loudmouth who has bark but no bite? I didn't like you... Shinn, but I never felt feelings of such great disrespect that I've felt for you until now!" Athrun viciously closed in, unleashing a flurry of attacks upon the Judicator gundam as Shinn struggled to keep himself straight and fight Athrun off, the right leg beam of the Crusader kicking upwards and biting into the outer leg armor of the black gundam's left leg, but not completely cutting it off or rendering it non-functional. It was almost as if Athrun's style right now; the way he swung his weapons and raised his shield, reflected a noble man who had been insulted greatly, and once he got a chance to get back at the criminal who had wronged him, he wanted to humiliate them, and bring them down slowly. "Are you more then what I think you are? By all means then, tell me! Or just flat out admit that I was right! THAT I WAS RIGHT AND _YOU WERE FLAT OUT WRONG!" _The Crusader righteously punched forward with it's right fist, nailing the Judicator directly in the face mask with a fierce, phase shift knuckle sandwich.

"Damn... damn... damn... damn..." Shinn muttered angrily to himself, breathing at a heavy rate as he struggled to hold off against Athrun's relentless assault.

"I guess this was pointless..." Athrun puffed out bitter air, challenging a downward slash from both of Shinn's swords with either side of his naginata, giving him an opening to take a clean kick into the Judicator's torso with his lower right knee, an attack that Shinn saw coming.

Like other times, memories forced their way through his brain to the front of his mind as he remembered Kira, Cagalli, Captain Gladys, Executive Officer Trine, the rest of the Minerva's crew and _Stella_.

He had seen just how innocent and vulnerable she was, even though she could pilot a mobile suit in her own right. Yes, Shinn had broken the trust Zaft gave him, and that pained him on the inside, but there was something else inside of his body, something more important. A promise, the promise... to the girl who he had rescued... he couldn't back out of that agreement... not now.

"NO! I'M MORE THEN THAT!" A bright red SEED violently burst into a million small pieces as Shinn opened his advanced eyes with their dot-sized pupils. While changes occurred in Shinn's body, they weren't enough to stop Athrun's onslaught, however the Judicator itself had something up it's sleeve, for as soon as Shinn's SEED activated, a message stating 'Pilot S.E.E.D. Mode factor activation detected. ******S**uperior ******E**limination of ******E**nemies ******D**omination O.S. Activated.' popped up on the central, physical screen in front of him, the gundam's eyes flashing from a pure, tabula rasa white into a stained red color, matching Shinn's eye tone perfectly, the blue v-fin of the gundam splitting at each end from one spike into three. Last, but certainly not least, the small, middle wings of the Judicator began to move up and down between the two large binders, the wings of light fluctuating in the process, and the gundam itself seeming to blur, as if afterimages were being projected in close proximity to it. "HURRRAHHH!" The skirt and shoulder armor of the Judicator came to life, specifically the bottom left armor, which revealed itself to be a smaller, sub arm system, equipped with all the functions but not all the strength of the main ones.

This 'secondary arm', to call it that, quickly emitted a bright blue beam shield from it's hand guard and stretched it out, blocking the kick from the Crusader dead in it's tracks and leaving FAITH Special Forces pilot Athrun Zala speechless and with a wide open jaw. "I... I am... I'll protect her! I'll protect Stella! That's what I am! And now!" Shinn screamed a righteous rage, the three additional sub arms of the Judicator reaching for a taking hold of the beam sabers located on it's knees and backpack, activated their longer then average, lime green, scimitar shaped blades. "Now for you!" Shinn growled, swinging his bottom right arm forward, the Crusader powering in reverse to avoid suffering a hit while Shinn closed in quickly, the forward thrust of his machine easily outperforming the reverse of Athrun's, allowing him to thrust his upper left beam saber forward at the Crusader's head.

"Grr..." Athrun gasped and swallowed for air, pulling his own neck back into the head rest of the Crusader as Shinn's beam came close to impaling the suit's red, horned head.

"You say you understand me perfectly, but you're only forming a conclusion based on your own evidence!" Shinn leaned forward again and struck as Athrun jerked back some more, both amazed and frightened by the gundam's sudden burst of power, strength, and fighting capability. "I may have done the same in the past, so I guess I could say 'sorry' right now..." Shinn almost seemed to chuckle. "You however never took into account what happened to me today! So don't you dare think you _have the right _to judge me!" He pulled back on his upper left arm and sliced forward with his upper right, the blade narrowly reaching the Crusader's head and slicing the large sensor spine of the suit clean off, right in the middle. Luckily, the cameras in the eyes and the other forward optic of the Crusader were still active, but the same could not be said about the smoldering horn, the signature trait of any gundam belonging to Athrun Zala, and boy did it make him sour and wanting to strike back.

"Wait a minute! Don't I dare judge you? Fine then, tell me just what made you decide to have a change of heart then!" He thrust his beam naginata forward, Shinn blocking with a raised left sword.

"Because I got my head out of the cloud!" The freed lower left arm of the Judicator opened it's palm and formed an energy orb, the same type used by the swords and main hands of the suit, and then whipped it at Athrun.

"Pah!" Athrun quipped, spreading the legs of the Crusader out a far as their mechanics would allow them to, avoiding the beam orb as it went between his legs. "Comical." He closed in, powering up the beam boomerangs on his shield and slicing in Shinn's direction, the upper right arm of the Judicator blocking the hit. "Dammit Shinn, that's the same reason why I left Zaft last war, and why I joined Zaft this war! Don't you get it? DO YOU?" He yelled.

"What?" Shinn's eyes snapped open in disbelief, loosening his control on the upper right arm and allowing the Crusader to cut it directly off at the elbow, the black phase shift armor and dead beam saber flying off into the distance.

"So where exactly do we differ then? Answer me! If that's your reasoning for deserting, then you're the same breed of human being that you've played me out to be! How does it feel, knowing that? ANSWER ME!" Athrun demanded, ramping up on the offensive again, taking advantage of an on-tilt Shinn, who although he could still fight, was unable to see any openings in Athrun's attack pattern.

"NO! You're wrong because!" Shinn tried to counter weakly, lowering the lower right secondary arm of his machine and thrusting it forward in a fit, Athrun skillfully pulling back in the blink of an eye.

"It's not and you know it!" The Crusader dived forward and kicked in front of the Judicator with it's left leg beam, slicing the hand of Shinn's secondary arm clean off in an instant, clearly taking advantage of both Shinn's mental state and his experience with this type of gundam. "Pathetic..." He allowed a bitter cough out, raising his beam naginata up and preparing for a downward slash right through Shinn's torso section. "Shinn, you asked for it! Remember that, while you're in hell." He thrust downwards.

"No he bloody well didn't Athrun and you know it!" An equally enraged Kira burst through, the Veneficus kicking the Judicator in it's right side and forcing the gundam out of the picture while he slid into Athrun's range, raised up his own dark blue beam naginata and intercepted Athrun's perfectly. Although the Veneficus came in at just the right moment, it was not without damage, as evidenced by the lower left cannon on it's back, which was now missing, as if it had been shot down, by Rey, while Kira rushed to save Shinn.

"Kira, get the hell out of this! It's between Shinn and I! Not you!" Athrun barked as great bolts of lightning erupted from the spot where the Crusader and Veneficus' beam staffs were colliding.

'Kira...' Shinn pulled back from the fight, recovering from the impact with the Libertas Veneficus, but all the while taking note that the Legacy, for all it was worth, was still closing in on the battle, observing from the side.

"You are dead wrong!" Kira said in an objective, imperative tone, looking towards Shinn. "Take on that Rey character! Now that you've managed to activate your special functions it shouldn't be much trouble! I'll handle Athrun!" He ordered absolutely.

"KIRA!" Athrun became aggressive.

"But... Rey... is..." Shinn fumbled.

"NOW!" Kira brawled with the Crusader as Shinn shook his head and gulped.

"Fine! On it!" He opened the wings of the Judicator up and ignited their wings of light, several afterimages of the machine being left in the wake as it burst forward towards the Legacy.

"If you're involved, care to explain how then?" Athrun questioned.

"Fine. I was the one who told Shinn to either take that gundam he is now piloting, and fight for ORB, or he wouldn't be able to fight at all, for anyone or for any cause! I disabled the Impulse and brought him in _against his will_!" Kira answered, the Veneficus' left side leaning downwards and activating it's beam shield for the sake of blocking a quick kick from Athrun's right leg, while still maintaining his hold over the battle between the weapons in each suit's hand.

"Oh, and care to explain just how you convinced Shinn? By all means, I'm listening!"

"Only if you're willing to walk the same path as him. I'll forgive you." Kira warned. "But right now, it seems you're too entrenched in your own beliefs to be convinced!"

"Go to hell, Kira, like you're any different!" Athrun jerked, pulling back and out of the way, the right beam boomerang on his shield popping loose as the Crusader flicked it's left arm up, the weapon coming out only to be caught by the suit's free hand. "Like I'll join those who would standby and defend the likes of Logos! Give me a break!"

"Oh for crying out..." Kira rolled his eyes in anger as Athrun whipped the weapon at him and then charged in directly following it, the Veneficus putting it's double-bladed saber directly in front of it's body, spinning it in a circle at a high frequency, deflecting the boomerang off into the distance.

"Huh..." Athrun stopped in front of the bladed barrier his opponent had put up in the distance, keeping enough space between them to avoid any sudden moves by Kira, looking for an opening.

"Listen to me Athrun. Right now, you're backing the Chairman, and I'm backing ORB. Don't think of me as ignorant. I know about the Destiny Plan. I know of it well enough to be disgusted by it. That's why I'm fighting it, and you, right now! And that's why neither I, nor ORB, will simply back down! I won't let you harm Cagalli's heart again!"

"Is that as important as the fate of humanity?" Athrun asked, being extremely cynical as he faced Kira with green SEED mode eyes.

"Rey!" Shinn rushed forward directly at the Legacy from behind, his wings blazing furiously as he approached the slower gundam, meter by meter.

"Shinn! I am disappointed. Really." The blonde shook his head. The six small DRAGOONs of the Legacy quickly pointing backwards and firing at the front of the approaching Judicator. "But I don't care, either." Shinn was forced to back off to his right to avoid the first wave, only to have Rey fire a second at the raven haired pilot, who by placing all of his arms forward and activating their shields, blocked the attack, but lost some momentum in the process. "What happens to you now is irrelevant, know that." He said in disgust.

"Does that mean... all this time!" Shinn caught up to Rey and took a swing at him from above with his right arm, the Legacy lowering itself and flipping over so the two machines faced each other's front side, looking into each others eyes, the blade of the Judicator several meters from Legacy's torso, who's backpack was bent downwards to provide the necessary thrust to keep this position and height. "I thought you were my-"

"We're both expendable. I don''t care about our past relationship. Now you're only an object to be eliminated, it's as simple as that." Rey stated in a cold, neutral tone.  
"Why you bastard!" Shinn barked, attempting to dive forward and impale the Legacy's cockpit with the tip of it's blade.

"Hmmph..." A SEED mode Rey hummed, unfolding the remaining RL-532 "Xiphias Drei" Rail Cannon of his machine and firing it at Shinn's shoulder and upper arm, as well as straightening his backpack and falling down out of the blades reach, the two actions preventing Shinn from reaching the kill, and causing a fair amount of kinetic energy to be inflicted as pain, to Shinn. "Now... what about Athrun?" He prepared another volley, targeting the Veneficus. 'That machine and it's pilot have to be destroyed for us to be victorious.'

"Him again!" Kira stopped twirling his beam naginata as he noticed the Legacy turn it's attention back towards him, and prepared to power away.

'I see what he's doing.' Athrun thought. "Stop right there, Kira!" Athrun threatened, raising his machine's left arm and launching the AJ-988G "Griff" Grapple Stinger from it's shield, the claw pincering onto Veneficus' right hand as Rey opened fire, slowing it down significantly.

"...Fuck..." Kira bit his bottom lip, doing his best to evade the beam barrage from the Legacy, and managing to do so, if not for two things: One, Rey's remaining Rail gun shot managed to strike the Veneficus' right hand, and although it was protected by phase shift, the beam sabers were not, forcing Kira to let go of them and allow them to drop and explode in the process, leaving him unarmed for melee combat. Two, a beam from the Legacy's outer left DRAGOON managed to strike the other lower beam cannon of the Veneficus, piercing it's barrel and severing the bottom half clean off. On the other hand, one of the beams from Rey did severe the grapple hook Athrun had used. "Shit..." He swore again as Athrun closed in and ramped up his attacks, taking advantage of Kira's predicament, although Veneficus made sure to keep it's shields up all the time now, blocking and moving out of the way of consecutive strikes from Athrun.

"Why, Kira, why? Are you actually able to justify your beliefs for once? What are you fighting for?" Athrun intensifies his attacks, although it seemed as if he was more concerned with disabling Kira, at least for the purposes of talking to him.

"That... line... of... rhetoric... again..." Kira barely managed to let out, completely concerned at keeping the Crusader at bay, grumbling and sweating as he did.

"Screw you for doing something like that!" Judicator crashed directly into the Legacy's right beam shield and punished it backwards with all of it's force.

"Dammit, Shinn! You will fall down and out for all of this! In the end, that's a promise!" Rey replied back, fighting against Shinn with beam sabers drawn, but knowing full well that against a machine with as many melee weapons as Shinn's, that he needed to keep his distance.

"Are you so sure?" Shinn stretched his right arm across his machine's body and raised the left one up high.

"Yes, I am!" Rey replied objectively, getting ready for Shinn's attack and preparing to dodge out of the way.

"Really, watch this!" Shinn smugged, swinging the right arm of the Judicator horizontally, the speed of the limb surpassing both the velocity of most, if not all other gundams, as well as Rey's expectations. The blade then proceeded to cut off the top half of Rey's two large DRAGOONs, although that wasn't all that he had in mind. "Kira! TAKE THIS!" The other large, dark blue anti-ship sword suddenly deactivated it's beams and folded up into storage mode, and rather than swing it down upon Rey, Shinn slinged it over the Legacy's head and towards the Veneficus.

"What?" Athrun asked in surprise as the Veneficus backed away and caught the sword, properly gripping it's handle and folding the blade out as Athrun charged in again, the blade of his pink beam naginata meeting Kira's new, green sword blade.

"Thank you... Shinn..." Kira said over the line sincerely, while still holding focus on Athrun, breaking back and forth, clashing his sword against Athrun's sparkling blue beam shield. "So we battle again, Athrun..."

"If it comes down to this then, to two old friends forced to fight for opposing beliefs, one who is right and the other who is wrong, then I guess it is! I'm not backing down!"

"So be it..._"_ Kira stated in a calm, determined voice, a purple SEED finally exploding in his eyes as he went into his berserking SEED mode, the same message appearing on the Veneficus' screen that appeared on the Judicator's as Kira pulled back, his machine's eyes flashing a deep purple and it's zig-zag v-fin folding back up straight as the suit bent it's legs outwards and raised the anti-ship sword up high, it's blue Libertas wings opening up in an instant and casting their bright blue wings of light outwards as Kira charged forward (A/N: Think of how the Destiny prepared to charge with it's Arondight... that's what Kira did, plus the transformation), the Crusader's pilot preparing himself as the two machines blitzed past each other in the blink of an eye, and then back again, two SEED mode warriors fighting in opposition.

* * *

"You fight well, for someone who should be in office trying to beg negotiations!" Heine commented with a scornful smile, the Assassin and Sovereign battling it out in a fierce melee engagement as beam fangs crashed against beam swords.

"HAH! Says you! A real leader charges into battle with their soldiers and fights alongside them!" Cagalli retorted, blocking a downward vertical slash from Heine's right sword.

"That seems rather brazen! At least when Durandal came out to the front lines, he stayed inside of the ship!"  
"Good for Durandal." Cagalli grunted, pulling away a few meters as Heine thrust his left sword forward, only to have Cagalli crush it down with her right shield. "I know how to fight, and I'm not afraid to use the skills that I've acquired in action, if it means fighting for what I believe in, even if it puts my own life on the line!"

"Roar..." Heine joked, making fun. "Fine then, let's test your so-called skills then, and allow me the pleasure of making you eat your own words..."

"Why you!" Cagalli gnarled, performing a perfect, semicircular horizontal slash with her left shield directly across the Assassin's front, the stealth mobile suit's head lurching forward and feet bending up slightly as it's torso was pulled back to avoid suffering damage.

"... by seeing what it takes to kill you!" In an instant the Assassin fired it's right-armed HA-M231D "Wurfmesser" Hyper-velocity Retractable Beam Dagger into the Sovereign's left shield, the beamed dagger sinking into the defensive armament like a metallic, energy fang. Quickly following, Heine then pulled in on it's wire, the dagger pulling both the Assassin and Sovereign closer together as Heine swung down with his left-handed sword, slicing Cagalli's shield in half and disabling all of it's weapons in an instant.

"What the..." Cagalli found herself at a loss for words as Heine prepared a follow up.

"Hmm, not much, apparently." Heine insulted, moving his suit back and retracting his dagger out of the broken, falling piece of shield, preparing an uppercut attack with his right-handed weapon. "Now for the finish!" He lunged forward and swung the Assassin's right arm directly upwards, and in a split second; a flash of lightning, Cagalli made her move.

"UNDERESTIMATE ME, ASSHOLE?" She questioned with raging royal fury, the Lioness' eyes now transformed to their SEED state as the attack met a stalemate. At the same time, her machine's eyes blinked from sparkling white to a glistening gold, and a piece of each v-fin seemed to separate from the main part and fold inwards until the two pieces connected right in the center of the gundam's forehead. However, to stop Heine, Cagalli quickly ejected her broken shield and then brandished the lone beam saber located on the Sovereign's left skirt armor in the backwards position and brung it forward and across her chest to catch Heine's blade attack in the blink of an eye.

"Oh..." Heine tried to giggle, but these were no giggles of joy, rather of masked surprise.

"I'll show you just what kind of Warrior Princess I am!" She barked, the thrusters on the Sovereign's backpack and legs igniting up to a higher power rating, pushing forward on the Assassin as Cagalli became exponentially more aggressive, flipping around her beam saber and unleashing a hurricane of slices and cuts. Now Heine was on the back foot.

"Very good... very... good..." He struggled to speak, so focused on not taking damage from the SEED mode pilot. "But I think it's time you learned a lesson from..."

"Just shut up!" Cagalli raged, a hint of laughter in her voice as she beat the Assassin back and figuratively sealed Heine's mouth with tape, the orange haired man making a small error in his next move: When he made his next attack with his left-handed sword, he accidentally twisted the blade in such a way so that it's blunt, metal, and unprotected side was now coming at the Sovereign, so that when it countered upwards with it's right-armed shield, the beam blades sliced down the center of the sword, from just above the hilt, to the tip. "Gotcha." She snarled sarcastically.

"Not yet... not... yet..." A drop of sweat rolled down Heine's face between his eyes as the Assassin bent it's knees downwards to narrowly avoid a slice that would either decapitate it or do worse (Google 'matrix back bend' for visuals), then threw aside his now useless blade and reached for one of the HA-M888HG "Effugere" Flash Grenades on his left calf, chucking the bomb upwards and into the Sovereign's chest.

"Arrg... my eyes... damn it hurts..." Cagalli pulled her hands off of the controls and used them to cover her eyes from the blinding light, shaking her protected head in pain, while outside the Sovereign seemed to randomly perform some moves, both random and defensive, responding to her mental SEED mode brain waves.

'Well... it appears I've gauged your strength...' Heine thought, cloaking his suit in the midst of the explosion.

"Err... where is he?" Cagalli opened up her golden SEED eyes, some tears from the pain rolling down them. "Dammit... he's gone... for now..." The Sovereign started to thrust away from it's position. 'No he isn't, chances are he'll come out when it suits him... but until then, there's some things I can do...' Cagalli began to pull some evasive maneuvers and chart her way towards where Stella was on the radar.

* * *

In the meantime...

"Just try and attack me up close, I dare ya!" Lunamaria shouted, unleashing a massive barrage of energy projectiles from all of her beam weapons at the Demoness while Stella kept her distance, evading and blocking the Colossus' suppressive fire, but being rendered completely unable to close in and get on the offensive whatsoever. "Have some of this... and this!" She unleashed back-to-back barrages from both of fully extended beam cannons and chest gun, scaring the sky with a multitude of thick, powerful, and deadly multi-phase beam blasts.

"Bang... bang... bang... bang? Is that all you can do?" Stella strafed out of the way of each shot, clearly stressed from the battle.

"Not so tough now that the playing field is equal, is it? I'm no longer in that pitiful ZAKU, but I haven't forgot about what you did to me, and to Zaft!" Memories of the Armory One Theft, the battle in the Debris Belt, the Junius Seven drop, and the engagement at the Dardanelles snapped in the magenta haired girl's mind, reminding her of all the times she had been at the Gaia's mercy, and all the encounters where she survived by the skin of her teeth.

"You call this equal? Just wait until I get UP IN YOUR FACE!" Stella threatened. "Mobile Armor... no...High mobility... err... Waverider... no, Skylord Mode... that's what this is called! Skylord Mode, active!" Stella announced, imputing a few commands into her suit's controls. At the same time the gundam raised it's left arm to where it's head was, the v-fin folding and collapsing horizontally so it wasn't sticking up as much as the device on the back of the neck grabbed the shield that was shaped like a dragon and detached it from the arm, the upper left limb going back down to where the right one was as the body began to 'fall forwards', the shield covering the gundam style head and becoming the new head of the Demoness as it transformed into mobile armor mode. The next part of the process was that the area below the 'side skirts' of the legs seemed to rotate one hundred and eighty degrees, so that the bottoms of the feet were now facing the ground as the devices mounted on the top of the feet slide forward on their tracks and folded over, to that they were on the other side of the feet but facing downwards with an angle of depression of around twenty degrees as the knees bent downwards so that it looked like they were now those of a dragon standing on the ground in their shape.

As the wings spread out the cockpit seemed to outright turn so that Stella was facing forward with her machine rather than looking down as the ORB-03 Demoness completed it's transformation into Skylord mode for the first time.

"Just _try _and lock onto me with that overweight Zaft hunk of junk now!" Stella rammed her thruster controls forward, the engines on the machine's back, the tips of the wings, and the sides of the legs each intensifying their respective blue thruster flames, ramping up her speed by a great deal, matching that of Shinn's machine when it was in it's SEED mode.

"Hunk of junk? Oh, that's it!" Lunamaria warned, a blue SEED bursting apart inside her eyes in a fit of anger. "You want me to lock onto you, alright!" The Colossus' targeting cross hairs fixed onto the flying silver dragon as Lunamaria pulled the trigger on her controls, unleashing even more beam shots from her massive cannons, beams blitzing through the sky at incredible speeds.

"Geez... she does mean business!" Stella struggled, flying upwards to avoid a beam and then downwards, multi-phase shots rushing over and under her machine's torso as she turned and faced the Colossus head on and fired a pair of shots from her suit's nose shield.

"You can do better than that!" Lunamaria moved to her right and evaded, following up with a chest cannon shot. "Your fancy, shiny armor doesn't mean mean against these kinds of weapons, does it?" She questioned.

'She's right...' Stella rolled to her right as the beam passed under her left wing and she turned away, uncomfortable with the thought of flying forward against those cannons.

"Let's just test that theory out!" With the precision of a skillful sniper, Luna locked onto Stella again and fired all three of her major beam cannons.

"Uhhh... uhh..." The Extended opened her eyes up a lot and rolled to her left, descended, and activated the beam shields on her spread dragon-like wings for protection, all three shots converging on the beam of the right wing, their combined power propelling the Demoness into a severe, out of control, clockwise roll. "I didn't think they would be that powerful if they all hit the same location at once..." Stella braced herself as she spun around and around dizzily, folding her wings back in as the Demoness plunged into the watery sea below.

"Have a good time down there!" Lunamaria stated, scanning the area for where the Demoness would emerge later.

"Wow.. that hurt..." Stella rubbed her right shoulder, which slammed into it's roll-cage rather hard, only to have an outside force assault the Demoness soon after. "Oh what now?" She asked, finding that an Amphibious UMF-4A GOOhN was now attacking her, although whether it was with it's missiles or darts, she cared not. "Oh, you're in for it, first generation buckero! This is phase shift you're dealing with!" Stella transformed her machine back into mobile suit mode and made a 'come at me, bro' stance with the underwater Demoness while the GOOhN charged forward, hoping to get off some blasts with it's Photon Maser High-energy Cannons, although Stella would have none of that. "RAH!" She ferociously roared like a cat, grabbing the GOOhN's shoulders with both hands and then kicking it square in the chest with her right foot, knocking it away as she grabbed the mace and chain from her lower back armor and swung it forward with all of the Demoness' might, the spiked ball at the end slamming into the GOOhN's side and causing internal damage.

"FOR ZAFT, YOU BITCH!" The pilot screamed for his life as water began to fill his suit and decompress the insides, his life now severely limited.

"And that's how you deal with that..." Stella expressed neutrally, storing her weapons back and rising up the to the surface, switching back to Skylord Mode as she did, bursting from the water only to find herself... directly in front of Lunamaria's unit.  
"Back for more?" She questioned, although her cannons were now in their shotgun mode now, the chest cannon didn't have that option, and she opened fire with it.

"Bad place to..." The shot impacted the beam shield on the Demoness' left wing and pushed it aside, giving Lunamaria a chance to open fire with her beam cannons and energy Gatlings, spraying the entire area with small beam pellets. "Would you stop!"

"NO!" Lunamaira continued her assault, as another voice entered the field.  
"Then I'll stop her for you!" Cagalli announced as a storm of small, green, and fast moving energy bolts arrived onto the scene coming from an angle perpendicular to Lunamaria's shots, intercepting many of them and, as hard as this is to believe, canceling them out in thin air.

"You again!" Lunamaria snapped as the Sovereign came into vision, shining ever so bright as it did, and stopped in front of the Demoness. "You're... so..."

"Frustrating to deal with? Now you know how it feels!" Stella spoke, switching back mobile suit form and taking position behind her sister suit.

"Stella, you go around and get her! I'll cover you!" Cagalli issued with SEED mode eyes, her image appearing in the Demoness' cockpit on a holographic image that appeared just to the left of Stella's controls.

"Ugh... fine then! I trust you, Cagalli! Now it's payback time!" Stella laughed a slight giggle, turning the Demoness back into it's Skylord form and coming around the back of the Sovereign, to the Colossus' left.  
"You can't cover her if you're not in front of her!" Lunamaria rattled, extending her left cannon back to it's full extension and taking aim at Stella, firing

"Are you so cocksure?" Cagalli questioned, the remaining 'solar flare' like objected mounted in a circle on her backpack seemed to 'burst' into flames as they emitted a multitude of small green energy bits out at the beam blast Lunamaria just fired, intercepting the white and red shot one by one and outright canceling it out of the air, much to Lunamaria's surprise, and allowing Stella safe passage.

"What the?" Luna leaned back in fear. 'This was unexpected...' Her SEED mode eyes cried a little, the Colossus pulling back while the Demoness approached.

"Ah aha!" Beam sabers began to emit from the devices mounted on the silver gundam's wings, the suit rushing towards the slower Colossus and striking at it with skill, although Lunamaria wasn't one to be taken out easily. With a quick reflex the Colossus leaned back and avoided the front right claw of Stella's machine, while the back right one severed her left cannon in half, rendering the device inoperative. "EAT IT!"

"Grr... why don't I hit your friend then...!" Lunamaria scowled, recovering back her balance and reaching for the two halves of her positron cannon. "I'm pretty sure the same rules that apply for beams, don't apply to these! Goodbye!" She linked them together and began to charge up the weapon, the vibrating.

"Cagalli! Move!" Stella warned from a distance as she watched the Sovereign make small and little evasive movements, but nothing meant to dodge an anti-matter cannon.

"Arrogance!" Lunamaria fired her shot of powerful positrons, the lazer blitzing towards the Sovereign as it's backpack seemed to detach from it's main body.

"IS YOU!" Cagalli responded as the large disk flew in front of the Sovereign as the positron cannon blast impacted it, the blonde seeming to struggle as if she was fighting a mental battle, while the disk seemed to 'capture' and 'contain' the positron cannon blast from the Colossus. "Derrr..." She groaned, the arms of the suit bending inwards towards it's chest as the disk angled upwards. "AHHHH!" She yelled a burst of relief, unleashing the anti-matter blast upwards and into the air, right before the eyes of all three girls, the beam 'exploding' high in the atmosphere, creating an effect similar to the phenomenon that occurred when the Archangel left ORB in the first war, although this one wasn't nearly as powerful.

"How in the? Beams... and positrons?" Lunamaria gasped, trying to comprehend what just happened as she stored the two halves of her gun back on their respective skirts and growled, juking the trigger for her chest cannon, the shot flying towards the Sovereign and hitting home on the clear glass portion of the disk, which seemed to absorb it, while an invisible voice commented directly following that.

"That's an interesting device you have there. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it!" A single HA-M762W "Elektrisch" Electro-Whip appeared out of nowhere and whooshed through the air towards Cagalli's disk, the blonde herself breathing in and out to recover.

'Damn... come back...' She ordered lightly, the disk thrusting upwards into the air, but not quick enough.

"Luckily, nothing will happen to it!" Stella warned as she switched forms again and made a throwing animation with her left arm, the dragon shield on the end of it launching a beam whip out of it's mouth to intercept the Assassin's, the two weapons wrapping around each other and stopping, only until Heine's was destroyed, and Stella's deactivated. "Hehe..." She giggled with joy.

"Time to end this..." Cagalli stated as the disk locked into her suit's backpack again. "Stella, I have an idea... think you can at least keep both of them busy for a few minutes?" Cagalli asked, and Stella gave her a positive nod back. "Alright." The Elegant Sovereign flew away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Heine questioned as he fired both of his wired beam daggers in Cagalli's direction, only to have Stella outright get in the way and block the daggers as they met the Demoness' body and did nothing by bounce off.

"Tickles." The Extended giggled.

"Smarty-pants." Heine smirked.

* * *

Archangel's bridge:

As of this moment, the ship was still locked in combat with the Minerva, who kept some distance from the ship and was traveling almost perpendicular to her direction, approximately fifty degrees off the starboard bow.

"What. Was. That?" Admiral Kendan Westenfluss asked, his eyes taking note of something that he had spotted to the port side of the ship. "Was a positron cannon reaction?"

"Ugh..." Muffled Meyrin Hawke, who was still on edge since the incident with the Minerva. "Yes... Lunamaria used one of her weapons... but..."

"Yes, she used her Kristallnacht, but did she shoot it straight up? I thought I saw the beam bend!" Kendan interrupted.

"Yes sir. The positron beam did suffer some form of interference, and I can't tell what happened for sure, but it was deflected." Mary Walafi finished for Meyrin, silencing herself afterwords as the younger girl breathed in.

"Hmm..." Kendan adjusted how his glasses sat on his nose. 'Deflected a positron cannon beam? What level of technology are we dealing with when it comes to ORB? I've got to contact Rulski afterwords...' He thought to himself, only to be forcibly lunged forward as he let out a bad cough, the entire ship shaking as the Minerva struck her starboard leg with a direct hit from it's starboard Tristan. "Dammit! Ian!"

"Sorry sir! That one was a curve ball! I tried." Ian responded from the helm.

"Don't try! Do! XO, our barrage isn't powerful enough!" Kendan informed.

"They're not in the Valiants line of fire, Captain." Erin explained from below, waiting about five seconds before he would speak again. "Now, Gottfrieds one and two, fire!" The white behemoth unleashed four battleship-caliber beam shots, aimed precisely at the Minerva, one of them managing to impact the ship's starboard missile launchers.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Damage report! Starboard launchers are down!" Arthur yelled over the sound of the ship's rumble.

"Return fire!" Talia reacted. "This is bad... this is bad..." She whispered. "We're deadlocked right now... but they have the definite advantage... think... think..."

"Incoming mobile suit!" Bart announced. "It's the same one Chief Representative Attha was using earlier! She's coming for us at a high speed."

"What?" Talia questioned.

"Isolde, fire!" Arthur ordered, immediately following.

"I'll repeat that again? What?" Talia requested, only to have the ship shake, but this time, it wasn't from the Archangel, rather, the Sovereign had planted it's feet down on the ship's port side mobile suit deck, with it's beams deactivated. "BART!" She slammed her fists down, only to have the communications line open up again, revealing Cagalli. "Why have you landed on my vessel?"

"We assumed you wouldn't do anything." Cagalli refuted, causing Gladys to swallow and gulp, although very few could notice this. "Then again, you were attacked." Cagalli remained silent for a few more seconds. "Captain Gladys, I want to drive the Archangel off. With Zaft's flagship damaged, that should serve as a sign that..."

"The Archangel isn't the flagship for this attack, the Saint Helens is." Talia corrected, some slight turbulence from an exploding missile being felt by the present parties.

"Umm... whatever, it's their most powerful ship right now. I'll try to drive them off but I think I could use your help..." Cagalli tried to explain.

"Hold on, you said you were just giving us asylum... and right now we are defending ourselves..." Arthur spouted.

"Executive Officer Trine, silence!" Talia ordered. "I know what you're talking about, but if ORB is lost, the consequences for us will be worse then if ORB manages to push Zaft back." She turned to Cagalli. "Do you have a plan at least?"

"Go and try to get directly behind them, and target their engines."

"What! That's too close right now!" Arthur complained again, while the large vessel off in the distance fired another pair of large green beam shots, the blasts rushing over the Minerva's central hull as Malik made an effort to dive out of the way.

"I agree. We're keeping our distance, and from this range they'll see it coming and react. I may not like Admiral Westenfluss but he isn't nearly stupid enough to let something like that just happen, not by a long shot." Talia admitted as more missiles launched from the Minerva's port side, flying upwards and over the bow as they raced towards the Archangel.

"Are you saying that if you get closer you'll be able to pull this off?" Cagalli asked.

"Yes, but if we get closer-"

"I'll cover you."

"Demonstrate yourself. I'm curious to see how a single mobile suit can cover an entire battleship." Talia skeptically crossed her arms.

"Err... if you insist!" Cagalli growled, another bump shaking the entire ship as the Sovereign jumped off of the deck and flew towards the gap between the two ships while the Archangel tried to make a more aggressive turn and get the Minerva in it's Linear Cannon firing range. Seconds later, the Archangel shot a blast from it's starboard Gottfried at the Minerva, adjusting the shot so it wouldn't impact the Sovereign's armor. However, at the same time Cagalli narrowed her eyes and muttered some word to herself, unleashing more of the light green energy bolts from her backpack disk at the shots, the small specs of light intercepting the Gottfried shots, and although it took a lot of them, they managed to cancel out one and severely weaken the other to such extents that when it struck the Minerva's bow it didn't do much damage, if any, causing Talia to raise an eyebrow.

"Fine then..." Talia adjusted how she was sitting, and looked at Cagalli with somewhat serious expression. "But make sure we don't suffer major damage." She replied.

"Deal." Cagalli responded with a similar gaze.

"Wow... what a day. First the incident with the Admiral and now we're... fighting with the Princess of ORB?" Abbey questioned from her controls.

"Don't get to comfortable..." Talia grumbled. "We're doing this for the survival of our vessel and it's crew. Malik, twenty to starboard! Bring us in closer!" She stretched her right arm forward in a commanding fashion.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"So, she's coming after us? XO!" Kendan shouted as the Minerva pulled herself in towards a direction parallel to the Archangel's.

"Wombats and Gottfrieds, fire!" Erin Dubu shouted from the area under him.

"Alright... here goes nothing." Cagalli mumbled to herself as she watched the missiles launch from the Archangel and reached her left hand across and wrapped it around the beam rifle on the Sovereign's right skirt armor, throwing it in the air afterwords and catching by the handle. Afterwords the Archangel unleashed a volley of anti-aircraft missiles. "Right now!" She descended and aimed both her shield and rifle at the missiles and took out at least three of them with her first shots while the Minerva's CIWS handled the rest. Following that, she knew the ship would fire it's energy weapons soon, and to counter she detached her backpack. 'Wait for it... wait for it...' The starboard Gottfried fired. 'Now!' She mentally ordered, blocking one of the beams with the Sovereign's body and deflecting it back and over the turret while the disk outright stopped the other one.

"So that's their strategy then? Meyrin, get Heine back here, and stat!" Kendan barked as the Archangel fired another shot, only to have it be either reduced or reflected by the Sovereign again.

"Ugh... yes sir." Meyrin answered fearfully, the vessel brutally shaking as the Minerva fired both it's starboard Tristan and Isolde simultaneously, both sets of beams striking either the Archangel's leg or it's central hull.

"Evade! Get us out of the way before they melt the ablative armor clean off!" Kendan warned.

"I'm trying, but it's hard to shake them at this range!" Ian spoke quickly, a lot of anxiety and panic in his one.

"Dammit! They must've planned this! Those cursed traitors!" Kendan spat.

* * *

"Come on! Captain Ramius made better use of it then what you're doing!" Cagalli mocked as she bounced between the small distance between the Archangel and Minerva as the gray vessel's bow passed the end of the Archangel's legs and began to turn slightly to it's starboard side. Suddenly though, as the Sovereign's backpack detached itself and began to fire off more anti-beam energy bolts, a distortion in the air made itself prevalent, revealing itself and outright cutting a secant line slash through the upper right hand section of the backpack, disabling two of it's remaining emitters. 'Dammit! Knew it wouldn't be that easy! Back, now!' Cagalli opened her eyes wide and recalled the damaged backpack towards her before Heine could deal more damage, however this allowed the Archangel to get one last shot off with it's Gottfrieds before they went out of range; a shot that struck the Minerva's starboard double beam cannon.

"Tristan one is down! It's been shot, Captain! Fire control teams to starboard flight deck!" Arthur informed.

"We've got to pull away!" Malik began to pull up on the controls.

"NO! Belay that and keep at it! We've almost got this! Arthur, take out that linear cannon! Then we'll have a clear shot at their engines and they won't be able to shoot back unless it's missiles!" Talia calmed everyone down and gave out orders.

"Uh, yes ma'am! Adjusting for multiple angles! Isolde, fire!" The Minerva's triple beam gun calibrated itself so that each individual barrel was progressively higher than the other, like a set of stairs, and then fired as the white ship tried to tilt and avoid damage, but the lowest beam hit it's target regardless.

"Good! Malik, just a little more! Don't bring us in the line of fire of their other cannon and we've got their engines!" Talia announced, now at the edge of her seat with her hands on the cliffs of their rests.

* * *

"Check, but not mate! We can still do something you can't!" Kendan growled.

"They're right behind us! Ca...Captain! Orders!" Ian tightened his grip on the steering controls.

"I know that! Prepare to submerge! Descend! NOW! NOW! NOW!" Kendan screamed.

"Right away!" Ian pushed hard on the controls as the ship began to descend towards the oceans surface, only to be shoved forward in his chair as something in the back of the ship exploded.

"Engines two and three have been hit!" Mary informed from her station.

"Hurry it up! And don't let them get the back of the bridge, whatever you do!" Kendan commanded.

* * *

"A direct hit!" Arthur proudly put his left fist up into the air.

"Don't be so cocky..." Talia spoke without emotion. "We don't have any good offensive options if they get underwater, not with one of their Linear Cannons online. Fire one final barrage from our remaining beam cannons and then get us the hell out of here! Raise bow forty five degrees! Full thrusters!" She ordered.

"Right away, ma'am!" Arthur quickly jumped back to facing his station and went to work, while Malik prepared to pull up as soon as he saw green streaks.

"How's Lady Cagalli holding up now? Her suit took damage, did it not?" Talia asked while the ship fired again, most of the beam missing although one of the Isolde beams did manage to graze the yellow sensor array to the starboard of the Archangel's bridge, giving the crew quite the scare while their bridge went underwater.

"She's currently engaging the Assassin." Abbey answered.

'Admiral's son...' Talia thought.

"And the Colossus is inbound too." Abbey added.

'Lunamaria...' The Captain mentally continued. "Try to cover her with some missiles, Arthur! Are we out of the cannons range yet?" Talia asked as the ship suddenly lurched to it's right, shocking the crew. "MALIK!"

"EEK!" Abbey screamed.

"Sorry... I'd say now we are, Captain." He answered as a yellow blast flew past the ship's port, the Captain breathing deeply outwards following that.

* * *

Djibril's shuttle launch bay:

The 'good' Lord, his feline pet, and Yuna Roma each entered the main fusillade of the aircraft, several ORB soldiers meeting them inside, two of which were of course in the cockpit.

"We're all set to launch. All you have to do is get seated..." The co-pilot turned around and stated.

"Launch now!" Djibril snapped is fingers. "We'll buckle ourselves in while you're gaining speed! Now hurry!" He moved towards a chair.

"Ugh... yes sir!" The main pilot responded as he began to initiate the shuttle take off and the door to the outside began to close.

* * *

ORB Defense Headquarters:  
"Unauthorized launch from section six!" Images of a shuttle bursting outwards from the ground at an almost eighty degree angle to the ground splashed all over the control screens while each and every officer at the main strategy table thought of one word with all their wisdom: 'Djibril'.

"Send in the Murasames and the ORB-03! Don't let it escape! I swear, if you do...!" Colonial Soiga barked out. In the meantime, Stella, who was still locked in a battle with Lunamaria, broke away and switched into Skylord Mode.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Message from the Flagship Saint Helens, Admiral!" Meyrin Hawke informed from the submerged vessel.

"Huh?" Kendan turned to face her.

"They've detected a shuttle launch from ORB's Main Island." Meyrin informed.

"So the bastard's making his escape now, is he? Tell Heine to break off and shoot it down! The ORB soldiers won't bother a machine that they can't even see!" He ordered while the ship fired a blast from it's port Valiant towards an ORB Seldamis-class submarine directly behind it, striking the vessel's port section. "That'll get them off our back..." Kendan mumbled with a smug, yet angered look.

* * *

Djibril's shuttle:

"Come on... COME ON! Get us out of here!" The Logos leader raged.

"They're..." Yuna gulped. "Right on our tail. Hurry up!" The purplette placed his hands on his face in fear while several Murasames, and the Demoness, followed from behind, firing shot after beam shot.

"We're trying the best we can!" The co-pilot informed.

"Well... harder!" Djibril panicked.

"AHHH!" The main pilot screamed as he pulled up on the controls with all his might, the shuttle blazing forward to the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

"Dammit! If on I could...!" Stella tried to align up another beam shot from the shield on the front end of her suit, when suddenly another green beam burst out of nowhere in front of her, the ascending Assassin rising upwards as well with it's single beam pistol in hand. "Dammit, get the hell out of my way!" Stella screamed as she tried to make adjustments for Heine's appearance and fire off, but she, alongside Heine, we're too late!

"DJIBRIL!" Both pilots yelled at the top of their individual voices.

"This is your fault!" Stella growled, switching back into mobile suit mode and taking aim at the Assassin with her shield.

'I'm surrounded by her guys...' Heine thought as Stella launched her beam whip at him and he evaded it, only to come under fire by other ORB suits. "Well, it was nice seeing you, but goodbye now!" He announced in a comical fashion, reaching for his second flash grenade and tossing it away towards the Demoness, whose whip set it off while he took one final shot before going into stealth, the ORB pilots unable to do anything else due to the light.

"Damn..." Stella shook her head and opened her eyes, only to find that her dragon-shaped shield had suffered one final hit on it's right eye and horn when she placed it over her torso for protection. "Luckiest last second shot..." She pouted.

"Where is he?" One of the Murasame pilots questioned, hopelessly scanning the area.

"He vanished... mirage colloid for you... lets go down and clean up." Stella suggested, the Murasames following suit as they all ascended back down towards the island.

* * *

The ORB-02 Libertas Veneficus and ZGMF-X19S Crusader gundams, piloted by skilled, SEED mode blessed pilots, clashed blades once more, turned around, and slammed against each other again before finally circling each other.

"Djibril just might have escaped! Kira! Do you still feel justified fighting for ORB? Well? Do you think what you're doing right now, and what you're defending, _could possibly _be considered right?" Athrun questioned as the Veneficus reached for it's remaining beam rifle with it's right hand and fired off a shot directly into the Crusader's beam shield.

"Athrun, let me ask you something right now: If by chance we just laid down our arms, and surrendered to Zaft, what would happen? Answer that question, now!"

"We would have brought a criminal to Justice, Kira!" Athrun answered as Kira fired another shot of rage into Athrun's shield, deliberately.

"And what else?" Kira stored his beam rifle and gripped the anti-ship sword loaned from the Judicator with both hands as he saw Athrun coming. "What else would Zaft do to ORB?" The Veneficus backed away from a right kick from Athrun, and then ascended while raising the sword into the air and strafing a tad (like what the Destiny would do...) as he came crashing down again onto Athrun's shield.

"Nothing! You know why we were here!" Athrun responded.

"Liar!" Kira responded. "I saw with my own eyes just what Zaft was prepared to do! What about the Archangel, and the person who's in charge of it now? What do you have to say about what they tried to do, nearly decimating ORB a while ago?" Kira questioned, pulling back and slamming the anti-ship sword down onto the Crusader's beam naginata as Athrun tried to swipe with it.

"Listen to me, I don't support Admiral Westenfluss' actions, and I'll be sure to confront him after all of this is said and done-"

"A confrontation doesn't change the fact that he tried to fire a positron cannon at us! Do you know how many civilians that would have killed? What if he was successful, considering it was a ZAFT SHIP THAT STOPPED HIM!" Kira asked, his tone as angry as Shinn's was when it was at it's worst.

"But he didn't! Listen Kira, this wouldn't have happened in the first place if you just handed him over or surrendered! Now he's escaped! Look at what you've done!"

"Athrun, chances are he got away because of the confusion taking place right now! If Cagalli had managed to take back control earlier then chances are this probably wouldn't have happened and we would have dealt with it ourselves! As a sovereign nation!" Kira raged.

"And what would you have done? Let him roam free? And what could Cagalli have done anyway?" Athrun attempted to speak as he felt Kira push just a little bit harder on his controls, the two machines breaking off and flying towards each other again, except this time the Crusader extended out it's left foot, the beam on it being met by the anti-ship sword's blade as sparks flew between the gundams.

"Listen, look at the big picture! I know about the Destiny Plan, and so do you!" Kira stated as the two gundams broke off again and flew around each other, flying at one another and exchanging another round of pointless blows only to back off. "Why do you think Chairman Durandal hasn't announced his malevolent plan to the world yet, if that's his goal? What do you think a nation like ORB.. a person like Cagalli or I, would react to that if we found out for the first time, after surrendering to Zaft and let them gain free reign in ORB? Do you think such a grand design would involve allowing us to make those choices for ourselves? Or do you think Durandal would take advantage of Zaft's hold over us?"

"That's ridiculous, Kira!" Athrun fired both of his shoulder cannons at the Veneficus, the shots missing completely.

"To you, maybe. To us, it's a convenience for Durandal. Take out both Djibril and ORB. Neither Cagalli nor ORB is in the position to take such risks! We can't just blindly put our trust in him like you have! For crying out loud, you're being a complete tool! Open your eyes!" Kira demanded, a tear of raging melancholy rolling down his right eyelid as Athrun closed the distance and thrust his shield forward, Kira dodging to his right and pulling back only to slam down on the beam shield with his sword.

"Oh, so I'm the one who's being a complete tool? Coming from the guy who blindly follows his twin sister and will obey her every whim and command like a pet dog! What the hell's happened to you, Kira? Half the things that you two have done this war have either made no sense whatsoever or cost you dearly! Notice how you don't have the Archangel anymore? And where's that massive carrier I'm sure I noticed it at the Dardanelles? Did it magically disappear or was it _destroyed _by the same people who you signed a treaty with? If anything, you're the one being used because you just follow along and obey 'ORB's precious ideals!'"

"It's not about ORB's ideals, Athrun. They could change and I still wouldn't care as much as you think I do. No, we've done our part in this war... in order to make sure that more terrible tragedies didn't occur. More people would have ended up dead if it wasn't for us!" Kira pulled away and fired both of his wings cannons into Athrun's beam shield, knocking the Crusader backwards into a flip. When the salmon colored mobile suit leveled itself off again, Athrun definitely had something to say.

"**Indisputably wrong!**" Athrun yelled. "First of all, you kidnapped Cagalli and caused an uproar in ORB because of that, which gave the Seirans power. Second of all, you butted in at the Dardanelles and just caused more chaos and confusion! Thirdly, you decided to appear while the first Destroy was deployed, but from the reports, nothing good actually came of your actions. Finally, you forced Zaft to act and initiate Operation Angel Capture! That's all you've done this war! Nothing. Good. At. All. Besides, how the hell are you alive after what Shinn supposedly did to you, and how the hell did you force him to leave Zaft?" Athrun quickly rushed in and punched forward with his beam naginata while Kira let go of the anti-ship sword with his right hand and reached for his rifle while also thrusting forward with his left arm, the beam on the handle of the blade grinding against the Crusader's as the Veneficus bent forward as if it was kneeling in the air. "Well?"

"Athrun, you've made it clear to me now... you left ORB in a heartbeat because of some people loyal to your father, even though you made it clear that you had completely cut ties with him last war... you left Cagalli alone, when you could have helped her, and aided her, just because you felt your little moral dilemma was more important? And now you dare talk about... people like me, Cagalli, Miss Murrue, and Mr. Waltfeld like that? Do you even know what we did? No, you don't know that at all! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! **YOU'RE **_**NOTHING **_**BUT A DAMN TRAITOR TO ME RIGHT NOW!" **Kira bellowed as loud as he could, firing his remaining beam rifle into Athrun's shield and forcing him to break off his beam attack and defend, only to have the Veneficus follow up that attack with a swift kick into the Crusader's shield, knocking both it and the Red Knight back while Kira prepared for a decisive charge with his anti-ship sword.

"Damn traitor! Err... damn traitor! KIRA THAT'S ENOUGH!" Athrun raged back, preparing to attack, the two machine blazing towards each other as fast as their engines could carry. The Veneficus pulsed by it's wings of light and the Crusader by it's Fatum-10 lifter. Once they got in range Athrun began to perform a precise uppercut attack while Kira narrowed his eyes and adjusted his controls just a tad, striking down skillfully with his anti-ship sword while the two gundams with SEED mode pilots, purple eyes vs. green eyes, blazed past each other, but there was no lighting, no indication of a beam meeting a beam.

Instead, in less time then it takes for a human heart to beat once, while the Veneficus left a trail of light blue particles behind it, the Crusader suffered a hit. A massive blazing beam gash appeared right in it's fist, almost exactly on the spot where the two beam sabers were connected, that blaze of molten metal running into the hand, forearm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder of the suit for a split second before it ignited and wiped the Crusader's right arm unit clean off of it's body in a fiery explosion.

'Ki... Ki... Kira...' Was all Athrun could think.

'Athrun, I do what I have to...' Kira thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Shinn and Rey:

"For a man who said he hated Logos you sure are quick to jump ship, aren't you, Shinn?" Rey interrogated, raising his left arm's beam shield to block Shinn's remaining anti-ship sword as it struck down upon it.

"I'm not fighting for Logos, Rey. I would take great joy from choking the life out of Djibril if given the opportunity." Shinn answered, raising his blade upwards and striking forward with the beam saber in his lower left arm, forcing Rey to side step to his left and avoid.

"Actions speak louder then words. The Chairman sounded the call and placed the bulls eyes on the heads of people like him, yet you decided to leave. Your words do not reflect what you have done." Rey replied, both calm and controlled as he tried to pull away, but the Judicator was faster than his suit.

"Chairman Durandal didnt' tell me everything." Shinn countered as he tried to stab forward with his left secondary arms and the Legacy dodged out of the way again. "I was given the choice to either fight alongside those who also want to banish Logos, or not fight at all. I didn't openly defect in the end."

"Oh, I see." Rey stated in an apathetic voice that didn't really care, quickly grabbing the beam saber on the Legacy's left skirt armor with it's respective hand, holding the blade backwards and intercepting the Judicator's anti-ship sword as Shinn swung it downwards.

"And besides, I could tell that the Chairman had something up his sleeve when he made the decision to let Stella stay on the Minerva. I must thank him though, for now he can't use her as leverage against me." Shinn admitted, pushing downwards on the sword while the upper left arm of the Judicator stored it's beam saber away and opened it's palm menacingly, charging up an energy ORB. At the same time, Rey smiled, if only slightly, but nevertheless, _he smiled._

"Is that so?" He questioned in a devious fashion. The Legacy then pointed its right small DRAGOONs forward and prepared to fire them in response to Shinn's latest move.

"YEA!" Shinn quickly broke away and dodged the six beams that came after him, launching the orb he had created, only to have Rey turn right and evade it.

"Well then good for you." Rey went back to his normal tone, and Shinn unconsciously narrowed his eyelids in suspicion. "I could care less about some washed up Extended."

"Thanks." Shinn replied in a 100% sarcastic tone, swinging his blade down and sending another orb at Rey. "It means I can end this war without as many burdens and then live my life afterwords... happy."

"Big words coming from a man who's existence no longer has a point." Rey fired the beam rifle in his right hand at the Judicator, his words shocking Shinn and forcing him to raise his shields, rather than easily evade, making the distance gap even larger.

"How the hell can you say something like that?" Shinn shook his head, flew up and to his right while his suit's wings left afterimages, and then performed another batting attack with his blade in tandem with a beam orb toss from his upper left arm.

"Think about it." Rey's SEED mode eyes glared as he activated the beam spikes on his shoulder large DRAGOONs and knocked one of the orbs away, dodging the other due to a bad throw on Shinn's part. "Your family is dead, and you're the only one left. You went all-in with Zaft and now you have spat on the trust they gave you. There is literally no meaning behind the name 'Shinn Asuka' anymore."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Shinn raged, lunging forward again with his massive blade at his side as Rey fired forward with his beam rifle. "You can't say that!" Shinn literally swung back and forth, cutting the beams in half with his rifle and charging forward.

Rey raised his head in fear for what Shinn was doing, but he wasn't going to be taken down that easily, and put both of his suit's arms forward at the last second, just as Shinn reached him and struck down with his blade. "Oh yes I can! And believe it... somebody like me... somebody LIKE me... has the credentials to decide how much meaning there is in a person's life."

"Take your credentials and shove them." Shinn took the Judicator's right hand off of the blade and charged an energy orb. When it was finished, he tried to shove it forward into the Legacy's torso while the two gundams were locked together.

"Ignorance." Rey pulled back as Shinn raised his blade, and then stored his beam rifle back and then brandished his other beam saber. "If you lived my life, you would understand. If you've been through the things I've been through, you would know."

"Well why don't you enlighten me then? You never told us about what happened to you before you left Zaft!"

"Better that you ask your new best friend, Kira Yamato, it seems." Rey replied as he noticed Shinn come at him again, and turned his machine to it's left. "He'll tell you everything." Rey fired the five beam guns his shoulder's large DRAGOON was equipped with as Shinn intercepted with his shield.

"Stop playing games, Rey!" Once Shinn recovered, he came right back, swinging upwards diagonally with his anti-ship sword while Rey tried to guard with his beam shield.

"I will, if you come back with us. This is your only..." Rey offered, interrupting himself in shock as Shinn swung down. For some reason, despite the fact that he had activated the beam shield on his right arm, the purple beam on the tip of the sword, when it made contact with his shield, overpowered it and went right through it, slicing the entire generator in half, but luckily not damaging the arm below, too much.

"Not... a chance..." Shinn replied. "Not so tough now, are you, without your shield?"

"We'll... we'll see about that!" Rey answered, ascending out of another horizontal swipe from Shinn.

* * *

Zaft Flagship Saint Helens:

"What do you mean Djibril managed to get away? Are you positive that shuttle was his?" The Captain of the vessel questioned.

"We're not sure, but right now, we've yet to apprehend him, we're being pushed back, and the machines we've got deployed right now are starting to run low on power... looks grim if you ask me." His Executive Officer answered as the Captain leaned his left forearm against the periscope and placed his head on that arm.

"Ah, don't we have more machines in reserve?"

"Some, but not as many as the one's being deployed right now. If we swap out the ones we have available they'll only have an easier time driving us away."

"Damn, if only things didn't go the way they did early on." The Captain groaned. "Fine then, open a channel to the Archangel."

* * *

Ten seconds later, Archangel bridge:

"What? Fall back? Are our machines in such a state now?" Kendan Westenfluss asked.

"No, it isn't. But I phoned in to get your approval sir. You're our commanding FAITH officer."

"Alright..." Kendan replied in a voice of regret. "Meyrin, what's the status of our machines?"

"They're beginning to be worn down, sir. They could stay out longer but with how things are going..."

"Spare me." Kendan interrupted the girl. "Alright, I see your point. After all, our objective is not to trade pointless blows with ORB, and we can't find that man. There's no point in continuing this fight if that's the case." He said in a more rational tone. "Ian, surface the ship. Prepare to fight signal flares indicating our retreat."

"Surface the ship, aye." Ian manipulated his controls as the vessel rose upwards to shallower waters.

"Thank you, Admiral. We'll contact you once we've returned to the planned rendezvous site." The Saint Helen's Captain saluted before cutting the line.

"This is embarrassing..." Kendan said to himself.

"Surface in three... two... one..." Ian announced as the Archangel rose from the waters uniformly. Once it reached a certain height above sea level several hatches along the hull opened up and fired three flares indicating a return signal for all mobile suits.

* * *

Following the call to retreat, Kira and Athrun's gundams stood across from each other as their pilots seemed to gaze endlessly at each other with mixed feelings.

"Just know..." Athrun spoke up. "Just know right now, that whatever comes of Djibril's escape... the blood will be on your hands as well. This isn't the end, I'll return when that happens to set things straight." The green eyed SEED mode pilot threatened as he turned around and boosted away.

"And I'll be waiting for you, Athrun." Kira took his hands off the controls and cross his arms, the look in his eyes matching that of a person thinking to themselves heavily, and before too long, the Veneficus turned and parted it's own separate way.

* * *

"It looks like you lost." Shinn stated in a neutral, but yet bitter voice to Rey just as the two broke their engagement and backed away.

"I suppose it must feel good to be on the winning side, but this war isn't over yet, Shinn. As they said: 'You won the battle but you lost the war.'" Rey answered as the Legacy took off towards the Archangel, leaving Shinn be as an announcement blared across the communication lines of all ORB mobile suits.

"All units are to pull back immediately! We are not pursuing the Zaft forces! I repeat: All units pull back immediately!"

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"The Zaft forces are retreating!" Executive Officer Trine looked out with a spark of joy at the retreating mobile suit's and vessels.

"Admiral Westenfluss..." Talia bit her bottom lip, while at the same time, many ORB mobile suits, consisting of Murasames and Astrays, and the four ORB-0x gundams, began to surround the Minerva. "The question is... what happens to us now..." The good Captain simply placed her right hand on the bottom of her chin and watched as the mobile suits gathered around her vessel.

* * *

Machine Specs if you need them:

_ORB-01 Sovereign_

**Name:** Sovereign

**Model Number:** ORB-01

**Unit Type:** Prototype SEED User Ultimate Ranged Defensive Mobile Suit

**Developed from:**

GAT-X105 Strike

ZGMF-X09A Justice

**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete

**Overall Height**: 19m

**Standard Weight:** 72.5 metric tons

**Power-plant:** Ultracompact Hyper Nuclear Fusion Reactor

**Accommodation:** Panoramic ORB Elite SEED System cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

12.5mm Head Mounted CIWS x 2

Model 101 "Unflinching" Defensive-Offensive Shield x 2

Sovereign mounts two large shields on each arm in a way that makes them seem like an extension of that limb. Each of these shields are connected to and cover the hands of the mobile suit, disabling it's ability to carry weapons while each shield is attached to the arm, however they can be detached. Each shield is directly wired to the computer of the Sovereign and shares the Sovereign's SPS-01 "Speculum" Phase Shift Armor.

Type-105CC "Ardent" Triple Beam Fangs

Each of the two Model 101 "Unflinching" Defensive-Offensive Shields features three beam 'fangs' that come out of the bottom of the shield. These are the close combat weapons of the Sovereign.

Type-110RC "Imperatrix" Double Beam Cannon

In addition to the beam fangs, each shield mounts two beam cannons on the upper-middle portion of the shield. These cannons each have the power output of a typical beam rifle.

Type-115BR "Cent" High Energy Beam Rifle

In case either shield is destroyed, ORB-01 Sovereign mounts one beam rifle on it's right side skirt for ranged attack power.

Type-120BS "Innocens" Beam Saber

A single beam saber mounted on the left side skirt of the Sovereign should a shield be destroyed

**System Features**

Operating Systems

Standard G.U.N.D.A.M. O.S.:

Like each of the four ORB-0X gundams, the Sovereign utilizes a modified version of the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver operating system, the operating system used on the GAT-X series. This operating system was created by Kira Yamato when the Archangel landed to Orb after its defection from the Earth Alliance. He devised this system to make Natural pilots combat well using a mobile suit, making them fare well against Coordinator pilots. This operating system was developed further by Erica Simmons for the purposes of the four gundams. One of these modifications includes a compatibility protocol with the SEED System.

Specialized S.E.E.D. O.S.:

Each of the four ORB-0X gundams also has a specialized SEED system installed in it. This is known as the Superior Elimination of Enemies Domination O.S. This system only activates once the mobile suit has detected that the pilot has entered SEED mode. When the pilot enters SEED mode they no longer control the mobile suit using just the actions of their hands and legs, but their mind as well. However several armaments of each mobile suit can only be activated when the SEED system is activated, and as such only a SEED user can utilize the full potential of the suit.

Phase Shift Armor:

ORB-01 Sovereign is protected by a unique type of Phase Shift Armor specific to it. This armor is known as the SPS-01 "Speculum" Phase Shift Armor. In addition to the typical benefits of PS Armor, the SPS-01 "Speculum" Armor also makes the Sovereign immune to standard beam weaponry. If a shot is fired at the gundam, it will be reflected. This armor also makes the mobile suit appear to be made out of solid gold, although just the outside armor is affected by it. This armor also affects each of the backpacks of the Sovereign as well as its "Sol" WASPS. Note: Cannot protect the mobile suit against positron cannon shots

**Optional Striker Packs:**

_ORB-01EP "Elegant" Sky Pack_

On Earth, or in any location with significant gravity, the Sovereign mounts a large disk on it's back. This disk can only be activated when the mobile suit switches to it's advanced O.S. and is able to detach itself from the Sovereign and fly around independently of the mobile suit, being controlled mentally by the pilot. This disc has several systems and armaments to it. In addition to this the Sky Pack increases the overall height of the mobile suit from 19m to 25.3m and increases it's weight to 92 metric tons.

Gamma Ray Canceler

Allows the "Elegant" Sky Pack to cancel out gamma ray blasts up to a certain strength.

"Solaris Flamis" Anti-beam emitter x 7

Each of these is capable of emitting a small green discharge that travels at a high speed and are only usable in SEED mode. This beam is not designed to damage mobile suits or battleships. However should it collide with a beam shot, from either a rifle or a cannon, it will either outright cancel out the beam, or weaken it. E.g if it collided with a shot from a standard beam rifle, it would cancel it out. If it collided with a large cannon shot from a battleship, it would only weakened the blast, however several hits from the emitter with eventually cancel out the shot.

Energy absorption array

Another feature of the ORB-01EP "Elegant" Sky Pack is that if a beam rifle/beam cannon shot hits the center section of the disk, it will absorbed and it's power will feed the battery of the disk, allowing it to operate independently from the Sovereign for a longer period of time. If a positron cannon meets the disk, the disk is able to trap the blast and fire it back in any direction, although it cannot contain the positrons for longer than several seconds.

* * *

_ORB-02 Veneficus_

**Name:** Veneficus

**Model Number:** ORB-02

**Unit Type: **Prototype SEED User Ultimate Ranged Offensive Mobile Suit

**Developed from:**

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X03 Launcher Strike

GAT-X103 Buster

ZGMF-X10A Freedom

MBF-10+P30QC Strike Noir

**Manufacturer:** Morgenroate

**Overall Height:** 22.5m

**Standard Weight: **73 metric tons

**Power-plant:** Ultracompact Hyper Nuclear Fusion Reactor

**Accommodation:** Panoramic ORB Elite SEED System cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

12.5mm Head Mounted CIWS x 2

Type-210ES Beam Shield Generator x 2

Mounted on each of the hand guards of the mobile suit are two beam shield generators capable of blocking beam saber and beam rifle hits.

Type-215BR "Arcanyte" Mega-Energy Combinable Multi-Phase Beam Rifle x 2

Veneficus carrys two beam rifles, one in each hand. Each of these beam rifles are significantly more powerful than the standard beam rifles carried by most mobile suit, and rival the power of battleship caliber beam cannons as well as gundam-mounted beam cannons, as evidenced by the blue and red blast fired from them as opposed to the normal green shot. When not in use they are mounted on the side skirts of the Veneficus. These two rifles can be combined together to form a beam shotgun, which is capable of firing eight individual beam rifle blasts in a cone. In addition to this, the beam rifles can also combine and plug into the abdomen mounted connector on the front of the mobile suit and used to power up it's Apocalypse laser. (A/N: I have drawn this weapon out myself and will post a picture of it in my profile... and this time it doesn't look terrible **cough** Grandeur **cough**)

Type-220DS "Dual Innocens" Combinable Beam Saber x 2

Two beam sabers are mounted on the back skirts of the Veneficus. These two beam sabers are the same as the Type-120 "Innocens" Beam Saber mounted on the ORB-01 Sovereign in every way except for two reasons. One is that they have a different color, and two is that they can be combined into a large beam naginata.

**System Features:**

Operating Systems

Standard G.U.N.D.A.M. O.S.:

Like each of the four ORB-0X gundams, the Veneficus utilizes a modified version of the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver operating system, the operating system used on the GAT-X series. This operating system was created by Kira Yamato when the Archangel landed to Orb after its defection from the Earth Alliance. He devised this system to make Natural pilots combat well using a mobile suit, making them fare well against Coordinator pilots. This operating system was developed further by Erica Simmons for the purposes of the four gundams. One of these modifications includes a compatibility protocol with the SEED System.

Specialized S.E.E.D. O.S.:

Each of the four ORB-0X gundams also has a specialized SEED system installed in it. This is known as the Superior Elimination of Enemies Domination O.S. This system only activates once the mobile suit has detected that the pilot has entered SEED mode. When the pilot enters SEED mode they no longer control the mobile suit using just the actions of their hands and legs, but their mind as well. However several armaments of each mobile suit can only be activated when the SEED system is activated, and as such only a SEED user can utilize the full potential of the suit

Phase Shift Armor:

ORB-02 Veneficus is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor.

Specialized Frame:

The internal frame of the mobile suit is of unique design. This frame is known as the SMF-02 "Marksman" Frame. This frame allows the Veneficus to have unrivaled accuracy in it's beam rifle shots, but is dependent also on the pilot's own abilities. It also makes the exposed parts of the frame glow a rich light blue silver.

_**Apocalypse System:**_

The most powerful weapon of the ORB-02 Veneficus is it's Apocalypse Laser which is only usable when the user is in SEED mode. When the mobile suit combines it's beam rifles together, links them to it's chest, aims all of it's ranged weapons at a specific spot and builds up energy over a period of time in a specific spot and then fires the blast, it fires the Apocalypse Laser. This weapon is the most powerful beam discharge ever designed in the Cosmic Era that is not a large super weapon and is capable dealing massive damage. This laser makes the Veneficus a ultra compact super weapon of mass destruction like no other. (Fyi this weapon SPITS in the face of Heero Yuy and his no-skill herp derp twin buster rifle, damage wise)

**Optional Striker Packs:**

_ORB-02EP "Libertas" Sky Pack_

While on Earth, the Veneficus mounts a backpack that bears a striking resemblance to the Wings of Kira Yamato's second gundam, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, however these wings extend further down the mobile suit to allow for different armaments. Mounted on these wings are several armaments and features. When equipped on the Veneficus it's height increases to 24m and it's weight increases to 95 metric tons

Type-230PB "Kaos" Plasma beam cannon x 2

Like the wing design of the Freedom gundam, the "Libertas" Sky Pack mounts an upgraded version of the Freedom's M100 "Balaena" Plasma beam cannons. One major difference is that these cannons can aim backwards too, while the Freedom could only aim forward.

Type-275MC "Obliterate" Mega-Energy beam cannon x 2

Veneficus' Sky Pack mounts two Mega Energy beam cannons on the thruster portion of the mobile suit, separate of the wings. When activated they swing under the arms of the gundam and extend outwards.

"Luna" Beam enhancer emitter x 6

Mounted on the tip of each wing is a an emitter that when fires, launches a very small very fast, blue blast of energy. This blast cannot harm a mobile suit however when it hits a beam rifle or beam cannon shot, it increases the power of that shot. These emitters, like the "Sol" anti-beam emitters on the ORB-01 Sovereign can only be used in SEED mode due to the skills required to accurately aim such a quick and fast discharge and fire it rapidly without accidentally enhancing an opponents weapons. They play a critical role in charging the Apocalypse Laser.

"Alas Libertas" System

Each of the wings of the "Libertas" Sky Pack is capable of emitting particles that allow the Veneficus to travel at a faster speed than most mobile suits in addition to making the suit look bigger due to the particle 'wings' that are generated.

* * *

_ORB-03 Demoness_

**Name:** Demoness

**Model Number:** ORB-03

**Unit Type: **Prototype Transformable SEED User Ultimate Close Quarters Defensive Mobile Suit

**Developed from:**

GAT-X105 Strike

GAT-X303 Aegis

MVF-M11C Murasume

ORB-01 Sovereign

**Manufacturer: **Morgenroate

**Overall Height:** 24m

**Standard Weight:** 72 metric tons

**Power-plant:** Ultracompact Hyper Nuclear Fusion Reactor

**Accommodation:** Panoramic ORB Elite SEED System cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

12.5mm Head Mounted CIWS x 2

Type-305MC "Wrath" Directable heavy mace and chain

Mounted on the back skirt armor of the Demoness and serving as the tail of the mobile suit in both mobile suit and mobile armor mode is the "Wrath" mace and chain. This weapon is equipped with several thrusters on the base of the spikes in order to keep it from hitting the main body. When the pilot enters SEED mode they can coordinate these thrusters to direct the weapon wherever they want it to go. Affected by Demoness' "Nemo Potest Me Interficere" Phase Shift armor but only when attached to the tail or in the hands of the gundam. Usable in mobile suit mode and mobile armor mode.

Type-310PS "Grim" Multi-purpose staff

Another signature weapon of the ORB-03 Demoness is it's long staff, which houses a weapon at two ends. On one end of the staff is the emitter for a long beam scythe, and on the other end is the emitter for a beam spear. The emitters on either end produce a dark purple beam which is capable of ignoring beam shields. When not in use it is stored on the back of the Demoness. Only used in mobile suit mode.

Type-315CC "Talon" Twin beam claws x 4

Mounted on each arm and foot of the Demoness are it's four twin beam claws, which are around a quarter the normal length of a beam saber each. Usable only in mobile armor mode.

Model 301 "Immovable" Combined shield

Mounted on the left forearm of the Demoness in mobile suit mode is it's shield. This shield greatly resembles the head of the Dragon. When the Demoness transforms into mobile armor mode this shield is moved to behind the head and becomes the head of the Demoness. It has two weapons which can be used in either mode.

Type-320LR "Thrash" Beam Whip

A long whip made out of beam particles that originates from the mouth of the Model 301 "Immovable" Combined shield where the tongue would be. Very long and dangerous.

Type-325LR "Ignire" Beam cannon x 2

Two beam cannons each with the fire power of one regular beam rifle that fire from the eyes of Demoness' shield.

Type-390ES "Pallium" Wing Beam Shield x Many

Mounted on several points on the wings of the Demoness are beams shield generators, which serve to protect the gundam from ranged attacks as it uses it's wings to defend itself.

**System Features:**

Operating Systems

Standard G.U.N.D.A.M. O.S.:

Like each of the four ORB-0X gundams, the Demoness utilizes a modified version of the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver operating system, the operating system used on the GAT-X series. This operating system was created by Kira Yamato when the Archangel landed to Orb after its defection from the Earth Alliance. He devised this system to make Natural pilots combat well using a mobile suit, making them fare well against Coordinator pilots. This operating system was developed further by Erica Simmons for the purposes of the four gundams. One of these modifications includes a compatibility protocol with the SEED System.

Specialized S.E.E.D. O.S.:

Each of the four ORB-0X gundams also has a specialized SEED system installed in it. This is known as the Superior Elimination of Enemies Domination O.S. This system only activates once the mobile suit has detected that the pilot has entered SEED mode. When the pilot enters SEED mode they no longer control the mobile suit using just the actions of their hands and legs, but their mind as well. However several armaments of each mobile suit can only be activated when the SEED system is activated, and as such only a SEED user can utilize the full potential of the suit.

Phase Shift Armor:

ORB-03 Demoness is protected by a special type of phase shift armor, much like it's sister unit, ORB-01 Sovereign. However this armor is different. It is known as the SPS-03 "Nemo Potest Me Interficere" Phase Shift Armor and unlike the armor of the Sovereign, does not make it immune to ranged beam weaponry. This type of Phase Shift Armor instead makes the mobile suit immune to beam blades and sabers, in addition to the normal effects of Phase Shift Armor. This makes it so that the Demoness cannot be taken down unless it is shot by a ranged weapon for the most part. The armor turns a bright silver when activated.

Skylord mode:

ORB-03 Demoness is capable of switching between mobile suit and mobile armor mode. When in mobile armor mode the gundam resembles a Dragon. In this mode Demoness' speed is equal to that of the ORB-04 Judicator when it has it's "Multis Iudiciis" System activated. When in this mode ORB-03 can use it's Type-305MC "Wrath" Directable heavy mace and chain as a tail weapon, its Type-315CC "Talon" twin beam claws, Model 301 "Immovable" Combined shield, and beam shield generators. Does not require S.E.E.D. O.S. to be active, but any benefits that are present in that mode will be carried over.

"Geminus" System

When SEED mode is activated the bone-like wings of the Demoness begin to glow and emit particles that are a bright lime green. This also allows the gundam to project a holographic double image of itself nearby which is controlled by the SEED mode pilot and acts in a realistic manner.

* * *

_ORB-04 Judicator_

**Name:** Judicator

**Model Number:** ORB-04

**Unit Type:** Prototype SEED User Ultimate Close Quarters Offensive Mobile Suit

**Developed from:**

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X02 Sword Strike

ORB-02 Veneficus

**Manufacturer:** Morgenroate

**Overall Height:** 25.8m

**Standard Weight:** 102 metric tons

**Power-plant:** Ultracompact Hyper Nuclear Fusion Reactor

**Accommodation:** Panoramic ORB Elite SEED System cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

12.5mm Head Mounted CIWS x 2

Secondary arm x 4

One very unique feature about the Judicator is it's four secondary arms, two of which are mounted on the shoulder armor, and two of which are mounted where the side skirts would be. These arms can only be activated and controlled when the mobile suit pilot has activated the SEED system. When not in use they are folded inwards into a compact shape.

Type-405EO "Palma Orbis" Emitter x 6

Each palm of the Judicator, whether it belongs to the main two arms, or the four secondary arms, is capable of generating and throwing an orb of pure beam energy at it's target. The speed and accuracy of these orbs are dependent on the pilot's throw.

Type-410SS "Arbitrator" Beam saber x 4

Four beam sabers are mounted on the body of the ORB-04 Judicator. Two of them are mounted on it's kneecaps facing outwards and two of them are mounted on the hinges for it's wings sticking upwards. The beams projected by these beam sabers are slightly longer then average beams and the beams are curved in the shape of a Scimitar.

Type-450MS "Executioner" Anti-ship sword x 2

Compacted and mounted on separate and independent holsters attached to the back thrusters of the Judicator are it's two main weapons which can only be wielding in it's two main arms. These two anti-ship swords are almost 26m long when fully unfolded and both are made of an ultra-strong light weight metal alloy. Each Executioner has two large beams that run down the cutting edge and back side of the sword and stops at the curved tip. The tip of each sword has several small emitters that project a purple beam similar to that of ORB-03 Demoness' Type-310PS "Grim" Multi-purpose staff, meaning that the sharp end of the blade can pierce beam shields. The hilt of each anti-ship sword is similar to that of the Stichdegen, with the handle guard being able to project a curved beam that runs along the outside of the sword.

Type-450MS/O "Gladius Orbis" Emitter

The curved sharp edge of each of the Judicator's two Executioner anti-ship swords has a circular indent which is lined with the same type of emitters found on the gundam's palms. This allows the mobile suit to whip beam orbs at it's enemies even when it is wielding all six of it's weapons.

Type-490ES "Navitas" Beam Shield Generator x 6

A beam shield generator mounted on the hand guards of all six of the Judicator's hands

**System Features:**

Operating Systems

Standard G.U.N.D.A.M. O.S.:

Like each of the four ORB-0X gundams, the Judicator utilizes a modified version of the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver operating system, the operating system used on the GAT-X series. This operating system was created by Kira Yamato when the Archangel landed to Orb after its defection from the Earth Alliance. He devised this system to make Natural pilots combat well using a mobile suit, making them fare well against Coordinator pilots. This operating system was developed further by Erica Simmons for the purposes of the four gundams. One of these modifications includes a compatibility protocol with the SEED System.

Specialized S.E.E.D. O.S.:

Each of the four ORB-0X gundams also has a specialized SEED system installed in it. This is known as the Superior Elimination of Enemies Domination O.S. This system only activates once the mobile suit has detected that the pilot has entered SEED mode. When the pilot enters SEED mode they no longer control the mobile suit using just the actions of their hands and legs, but their mind as well. However several armaments of each mobile suit can only be activated when the SEED system is activated, and as such only a SEED user can utilize the full potential of the suit.

Phase Shift Armor:

The ORB-04 Judicator is protected by standard Phase Shift Armor

Specialized Frame:

Like it's older brother, the ORB-02 Veneficus, the ORB-04 Judicator also features a unique frame. Known as the SMF-04 "Berserker" Frame, this hardware design allows the Judicator to move it's limbs and react quicker than any other gundam in existence and also increases the strength of the main arms, which is critical for the control of the anti-ship swords. This frame glows with a molten metal color when the mobile suit is using it.

"Velox Veredictum" System

When the pilot of the Judicator activates their SEED mode, the wings open up and begin to emit particles similar to that of the Veneficus' "Alas Libertas" and "Cosmos" systems, allowing the Judicator to move at speeds that exceed the Veneficus.

"Multis Iudiciis" System

A subsystem of the Judicator's "Velox Verdictum" system. Should the mobile suit activate it's wings while the pilot is in SEED mode, the mobile suit's speed increases even more than before. In addition to this, the Judicator will leave glowing after images in it's wake to confuse enemies.


	12. Phase 41: Fates

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

As the battle ended and Zaft's Operation Justice was defeated and brought down, their entire fleet began to retreat into the southwestern horizon at top speeds, leaving the ORB forces alone, without target, and victorious in the defense. The vast majority of ORB's Naval vessels began to turn back and head towards the docks, while others were warned to stay out in the coastal waters, on the slim chance that the island nation might come under siege once again. However, one vessel, an individual ship, all on it's own, stood waiting in the calming waters as ORB mobile suits hovered in the air around it, their battle damaged golden leader floating in front of the bridge, although off to the port side, reflecting light all around the area while the ship's crew watched from their windows with awe, waiting for the next move to be made.

"Stay... stay... stay..." The CIC officer, Abbey Windsor stuttered and repeated to herself over and over while small drops of sweat rolled down her face. "... calm..."

"... And don't panic." Captain Talia Gladys finished for her, keeping her hands firmly on their rests and looking out of the bridge screens into the distance. "Are they trying to contact us yet?" She questioned.

"Uhh... no ma'am." Bart responded.

'Trying to figure out what dock to put us in...' Talia narrowed her eyes.

"Wait... hold on. I'm receiving a text-only message. 'Minerva is to proceed to port twelve at a low cruising speed. After the ship has been secured, the Captain is to proceed outside, either alone of with the Executive Officer." Bart informed.

'Yup.' Talia thought. "Malik." The helmsman turned around as she snapped her fingers, and all he did was nod in reply, the engines of the ship starting up once more and pushing her forward in the waters at a gentle pace. "Raise the bridge." She also ordered, the main screens deactivating as the entire floor seemed to rise upwards into the ship's upper level, and real sunshine flowed through the windows onto the crew itself.

In the meantime, on the outside, the golden Sovereign looked towards it's subordinate mobile suits and made a gesture where it tucked in it's right arm and then swung it outwards, the mass production model machines flying off into the distance, away from the ship, for the purpose of performing many numerous tasks, and after about three minutes, the gray and red LHM-BB01 Minerva came to a stop in ORB's docks, several arms coming out of the sides of her canal to hold the ship in place.

"Arthur, you're with me." Talia stated, her voice and general 'vibe' one that was mainly calm, controlled, and prepared, unlike the rest of the crew, who seemed to be shaking in their boots.

"Yes ma'am! Right away ma'am!" Arthur replied hastily, nearly jumping from his seat and following the white coated Captain through the sliding door at the back of the room.

"Bart, you have the bridge of now. Do a complete assessment of all damage done to the ship and check on our remaining supply stores. I want a full status report when I get back, is that clear?" Talia questioned.

"Ma'am!"

Within a minute following that, the Captain and Executive Officer left the vessel through it's starboard side bridge door, taking the long walk across the platform towards ORB's solid land, where a large group of people, and several machines, waited for them. The Sovereign, Veneficus, Demoness, and Judicator all stood upwards in the distance although their phase shift was deactivated, while their pilots, alongside other members of the ORB military, such as guards and even Ledonir Kisaka, waited for the two crew members, their Chief Representative up and in front with her hands crossed in front of her chest. As Talia and Arthur stopped in front of Cagalli, a certain feeling of anxiety overtook even the Captain herself, followed by a feeling of bewilderment at the Princess' first action, which was to bow before her, if only for a second, but nevertheless, bow.

"If not for your actions, ORB would have suffered a tremendous, and tragic loss. I speak upon behalf of both the ORB Union, it's people, and it's government, and myself, as a personal human being, when I thank you, your crew, and your vessel for your acts of kindness, Captain Gladys. I also ask that you do not worry, for I will personally ensure that the Minerva and her crew will be safe here until at least the end of the war, and that's a promise. Now, can you come with me? We have much to discuss, and I think you would wish to be reunited with your ace pilot." Cagalli gestured towards the silent, raven haired, and red eyed boy behind her right, Shinn Asuka.

"Yes." Talia looked at him for a second, although they didn't make eye contact. "Right away, Chief Representative." She answered as the entire group turned around and started to make their way inwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, looking out of one of the Minerva's starboard windows:

"What's going to happen?" Vino questioned, with his friend, Yolan, by his side.

"I don't know... err... Captain! We need you! And now they're taking her away!"

"Maybe they'll just talk things over with her."

"Hopefully, but I think we should..." Yolan attempted, only to feel a wrench gently land on his shoulder, and cause some minor pain.

"Hey! There's were you two were, I've been looking for you high and low!" The Minerva's Chief Engineer stated with a disappointed grin. "C'mon, this ship isn't going to maintenance itself! There's work to be done and you're the guys to do it!" He demanded.

"Ugh, yes sir!" The two answered in unison, following their superior, although whispering about their fate behind his back.

"Relax you two... Captain has this all under control, she knows how to talk things out..."

* * *

Retreating Zaft fleet:

Under orders, the fleet was making it's way back to the Australian base of Carpentaria at maximum speeds. Crews from all vessels worked to repair any surviving machines tirelessly to repair any and all machines that had survived the retreat from ORB. However leading the pack was the mighty, yet damaged, Archangel. However inside her mobile suit hanger, certain pilots overlooked the repairs and maintenance of their machines:

In the back of the hanger bay, the gundam's that suffered the most damage during the battle, the ZGMF-X19S Crusader and ZGMF-X20S Legacy, were being tended to with great care. Members of the ship's engineering crew stood upon platforms that could be manipulated to move around the bodies of the machines in order to see to their repairs, although from the looks of it, some of the damages would have to wait till later.

"The damage to the head unit isn't too severe. We should be able get upper camera functioning perfectly again by the time we get to Carpentaria." Looking upon the dull, gray Crusader, one of the younger engineers, an unexciting, Average Joe of a man in his early, early twenties reported to an older figure, who served as the Archangel's new Chief Engineer, a women. She seemed to be the type that was raised from birth to be a hard core grease monkey, and from the expression on her face to the way she held a screwdriver in her left arm, she was the type who could examine the damage to a mobile suit and prescribe what kind of repairs it would need, and how long they would take, in a heart beat.

"No, not even." She shook her head. "Repairing a sensor spine should take us half that time, to be honest." She looked down from the unit's head, towards it's now missing right limb. "It's the arm we need to worry about. We're not going to be able to replace it until we return to Carpentaria."

"So... just leave it as is for now?" The young man questioned.

"Again, no. At the least we can pull out the remaining frame that's attached to the torso. When we get our hands on the replacement units it won't take long to install it on. What worries me right now is..." The Chief Engineer moved along the walk way towards the other unit; the Legacy. "The kind of damage this one took earlier."

Whistling, the younger engineer examined the Legacy from the legs upwards, and sure enough, it didn't look all that pretty. Points of interest included the right Rail cannon, the multi-phase cannon mounted on the suit's abdomen, the chest vents above it, and most of all, the shield generator on it's right arm.

"Inches from death, I'd say. Rey managed to minimize the damage as best as he could, but that doesn't mean it's still going to be a mess to clean up. I for one am not looking forward to cleaning out all the excess gunk the hip-cannon has accumulated."

"Uh... excess gunk?" The man questioned, looking towards his superior.

"The enemy mobile suit cut the barrel moments before it fired, causing the remains to melt and block the exit. What do you think happened to that Xiphas Drei ammunition, with nowhere to go, hey? It certainly didn't disappear!"

"Oh, uh, right then..."

"That still isn't the worst of it." She put her hands on the guard rails and looked at the front of the Legacy dead on. The wound that had been created from the Veneficus' beam saber slash had now cooled down, and although phase shift itself was a dull, dark gray color, the shade of charcoal which the cut marks had become was both disgusting and disappointing to look at. "Just a meter or two more... I reckon..." She mumbled.

"Eh, what?"

"A couple meters deeper and the beam might have reached the reactor and caused it go critical. We're lucky it didn't. Still, I'd hold off until we get back to base to look at this with other guys there. I'm still perplexed though..." She moved towards right arm, whose shield now had a large gash in it. "I looked at the combat data from the last battle, and although this is a new technology, one of the ORB machines seemed to have the ability to slice through the energy shield like it wasn't there. I guess that's what they meant when they call ORB a nation with an advanced military..." The women shook her head.

"And didn't President Arak of Integrated call the Legacy as the most powerful machine ever built?" The younger man questioned.

"Something along those lines, although I don't blame Za Burrel, since this one needs to be in space to operate at full efficiency. Let's just hope our pilots get a rematch later on against those new ORB models..." The Chief Engineer began to walk away.

"Ugh... so what do you want me to look at first?"

"Make sure the Assassin and Colossus are resupplied. They only suffered damage to the optional weapons if I remember correctly. Then get to work on the Legacy's shield and Rail cannon. I'll handle the Crusader's head unit." She ordered, walking out of talking distance.

In the meantime, Athrun Zala stood from above, his chrome FAITH badge catching and reflecting the light almost perfectly as he looked down onto the hanger bay. He had overheard what the Chief Engineer has diagnosed, word for word. In his mind, all that he could think about was the past battle, and what had been done. Who had stood in his way, why they did, and all the fighting that occurred as a result of this. Although Shinn had given him a surprise, he wasn't all that worried. Yes, he did manage to get a hit in, but as the engineer said, it wasn't too serious. Not as serious as...

"Kira..." Athrun mumbled to himself. Yes, the brunette pilot had fought hard in the battle, and even though he wasn't immortal, as evidenced by the damage he had taken, he had certainly dealt significant damage to both Rey and Athrun's machines. That didn't bug him though, not as much as the words that now echoed in his head.

_'YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! _**__****YOU'RE **_****__**NOTHING **_**__****BUT A DAMN TRAITOR TO ME RIGHT NOW!'**

Putting his hand on his forehead, the blunette gave out a deep sigh. He had honestly thought that if Kira did indeed see just what it was that Athrun was trying todo, he would join them. Kira wanted an end to the fighting, didn't he? He wanted no more weapons of mass destruction to be birthed, right? For him to say such words to him, was unthinkable. Athrun _knew _things, whether or not Kira wished to acknowledge them or not. What had happened to their friendship? Was it meaningless now? Were all those years now to be considered... pointless? What about the time Kira and Athrun fought together during the last breaths of the first war? They were a great team, were they not?

'That's because we had the same idea... we had the same goal; the same reason to fight. However, beforehand... we didn't. We wanted to protect different things, and so we clashed...' Athrun thought. Due to his own actions, or rather, inaction, and impotent behavior, needless deaths occurred. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... shame on me. Rey, Lunamaria, and Heine... it's kind of like those old days, only this time it'll be different. Kira Yamato, if you want to protect ORB above all else, then so be it. But for the remainder of this war, our past friendship means _nothing. _If you want to change that, then you're going to have to become a _'traitor' _then, because I certainly am not, this time._' _Athrun concluded, while the echoing sound of torches and mechanical equipment began to get a little to loud, and so he decided that he had other matters to attend to.

* * *

"Understood? Alright then, are you absolutely sure Lord Djibril was on that shuttle then, Admiral?" Chairman Gilbert Durandal questioned from far away, across a communication line from Carpentaria as the Admiral gave his report.

"The suits we sent after it informed us that it was particularly hard to shoot at, as if the pilots were completely determined to get it into space. With that in mind, I'd say the chances of Djibril being on board are rather high. I'm concerned about the safety of the homeland now..." Kendan Westenfluss locked his hands together and placed his chin on them, before resting his elbows on his desk.

"As am I, your feelings are justified, Admiral. In any case, however, you allowed ORB to outright drive you from the field of battle, and, from what you've told us, you denounced the Minerva as a Zaft vessel. You do realize that Operation Justice now holds the position of one of the most costly battles for us during this war because of that, and not just in terms of money. Many good men and women were on board that ship, including Captain Gladys. Now, explain, why were you pushed back." Durandal questioned in a stern voice, causing Kendan to inch back a bit in his chair with hints of anxiety, although once the Chairman quit speaking, he continued.

"Our machines... encountered some trouble. We weren't just fighting the run-of-the-mill Murasame and Astray models. Take a look at these." Kendan depressed a few buttons on his keyboard, several images of the ORB-0x gundams in battle appearing on screen, both for him and Durandal to see.

"Oh..." Durandal responded, somewhat surprised. "Well well well, ORB seems to have revealed their own secrets at last." He looked though the images, and his eyes almost burst open as he saw one where the Veneficus slashed across the Legacy's torso. "Were any of our new machines lost in that battle? And if any survived, how much damage did they take?" Durandal asked with due haste.

"Don't worry, they're all alive, Chairman, both machine and man. Minor to moderate damage across the board though. Then again from what I gather, the ORB suits didn't leave the battle without their own wounds to be licked." Kendan explained with a smile.

"At least we know that our latest technology can stand toe-to-toe with ORB's military hardware. I think we'll need to find other ways of negotiating with ORB though, and even if they refuse... we have our resources."

"Ugh, Chairman Durandal, do you..."

"That'll be all for now. The fleet is en route to Carpentaria right now, from what I'm aware. When you arrive, I'll be there, and waiting. Until then..." Durandal cut the line as Kendan Westenfluss rolled his eyes.

"How could I forget." He sighed with anger, only to have his electronic buzzer go off. "I'll talk to you later, leave your name!" He ordered, although the buzzer went off again, this time whoever pressed it, seemed to depress it for a longer period though. "Who is it?" He raised his voice.

"It's Athrun Zala, Admiral. I need to speak to you, and I don't think there's time to wait." The voice of a certain pilot spoke into the room.

"Oh for..." Kendan mumbled. "Fine then, enter!" He spoke up as the electronic door slid open and the blue haired pilot walked forward with clenched fists and stood next to the Captain as sat down in his cabin chair. "Well...?" The boy's fists began to tighten.

"Admiral... I understand what you did out there was for the sake of capturing Logos, but that's..." Athrun shook his head in disgust, unable to speak. "... to fire upon ORB like that... with a weapon like that... how could you... DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT COULD HAVE DONE?" Athrun yelled, and Kendan stood up in the blink of an eye, and stuck his right finger forward right into Athrun's face. Although the pilot towered over Athrun, there was a certain feeling of submission that was attempting to overtake Athrun. It's the kind of feeling that a teenager gets when they feel all high and mighty, and then yells at their parents, only to find that their mother or father isn't playing games and isn't going to be bossed around by their own kid.

"AND WHAT OF IT? YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST STAND IDLY BY AND LET ORB GET AWAY WITH SUCH BRAZEN CRIMES? I AM NOT THAT KIND OF MAN... A MAN WHO IS WEAK! THIS IS WAR, ATHRUN, AND ALL IS FAIR!" Kendan yelled directly back at his disobedient pilot, causing the Red Knight to take just one step back... just one.

"All is fair in love and war... is that it? Even if it means firing a ship-sized weapon of mass destruction directly at an isolated land mass... a weapon that can leave some lasting environmental scars."

"The lasting damage created by a positron cannon is the most hyperbolic bullshit this world has ever seen, Athrun! And besides, who are you to talk down to me like that? I am the one in charge of this vessel, not you! If I wish to actually make use of my ship's weaponry then I'll do so, got it!"

"Just because you give the orders _doesn't make them right!_ What good is it if you..." Athrun tried to talk again, only to be cut off as Kendan placed his wide, spread hand up close to Athrun's face, causing him to blink in surprise.

"Listen, boy. Now that Djibril has escaped our job is going to become a lot more difficult from here on end, got that? There will be more at stake..."

"I KNOW THAT! I KNOW THAT MORE THAN- "

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Kendan yelled. "And why should _we _care if ORB takes a major blow? We are soldiers of the PLANTs, we are accountable to our own people, not to the people of the ORB Union. In my eyes, each and everyone of them is insignificant... even if you compared them all... the whole bunch, to just one person in the PLANTs, I would weigh that one individual as worth more than the entirety of the ORB Union!"

"But that's barbaric! Admiral, do you know what you're saying and possibly condemning here?"

"It. Is. Not. Barbaric!" Kendan spat. "That is the mindset that all Zaft soldiers, even you, should have! Just as it is our job to ensure the well being of the PLANTs, it's the ORB Government's duty to ensure that it's citizens are safe! To care about them! NOT MINE! We would have NO RIGHT to call ourselves soldiers if we let our people die because we were unable to do what is necessary to protect them because it meant inflicting harm on the citizens of another land! I gave them an ultimatum well before I ordered the Lohengrin deployed! I gave them a choice... I didn't just decide to open fire, yet they denied me! I'm sorry, but this isn't a game, Athrun."

"Damn rights it isn't a goddamn game, Admiral, but what about our _integrity?_ As Zaft soldiers?"

"What the hell are you going into?" The frown on Kendan's face doubled in size.

"You know what I mean! We are Zaft soldiers! Something like that... is something the Earth Alliance would do! But we're not the Earth Alliance, we are _better _than them! We don't desire genocide or burn our own cities to prove a point! We don't lower ourselves to such terrible acts of might makes right in order to get our way, now do we? DO WE?" Athrun opened his eyes wide and seemed to stare into the Admiral's very soul as he turned away. "Or do you think yourself as no better than an Alliance thug, just fighting for a different group of people with the same methods?"

"I am no thug, Athrun Zala! And what you just said is something that the bitch known as Talia Gladys would spout, and it would be in your best interests to mentally place yourself above that backstabbing bint if you wish to remain on this ship! Is that clear!" Kendan pointed his right finger directly at Athrun's face, pulling it back and pressing it forward several times over.

"Captain!" Athrun cried in anger. "Just..."

"**Enough**! Now, I want you to leave my cabin and go elsewhere... but before I do I must inform you of something!" Kendan stated, and although the two of them seemed to have cooled down, there was still a great deal of tension between them.

"What's that?"

"In case you didn't know, I was talking with Chairman Durandal just before you barged in, and I told him everything! He... has adopted a stance on this issue similar to your own, and once we make port at Carpentaria, I'll be going through an investigation by a jury of my own peers; other members of the top brass. They will decide what I did was actually 'right' or not. If you wish to observe this event... feel free to do so, because you are a member of FAITH, alright." Kendan explained, a certain kind of vocal acidity, the kind produced from a man who had done something that many considered wrong, but he still considered right, was present in his tone.

"Good on Durandal then, at least he knows where to draw the line. Am I free to go?" Athrun bit back.

"There's the door." Kendan growled as the Red Knight walked out of the room. "Self-righteous kid he's grown into. Where has the younger Athrun Zala that I taught in the Academy gone to?" The Admiral shook his head in disgust.

* * *

Later that day, ORB Union:

The Sun was setting over the island nation as the skies began to bleed bright shades of yellow, red and purple while the day died, slowly, but surely. Despite the best efforts of the ORB Military to keep their cities intact and prevent Zaft from dealing damage to the shorelines, they were unable to mount a perfect defense, for the areas touching the ocean looked as if they had been viciously ravaged by brutal conflict, the ground scared and laden with the debris and detritus of war. However, the further inland one looked, the less destruction there was, until some ways inwards, about one and a half kilometers, the destruction ceased completely. Still, ORB had a lot of work on it's hands for the future, cleaning up the mess and restoring it's shoreline to a state of functionality.

Looking down upon the area from above, the four ORB-0x gundam pilots, alongside the Captain and Executive Officer of the Minerva, watched from an average sized helicopter as it flew over the shorelines. Despite knowing that the damage had the potential to be far worse, Talia Gladys could only look down the area with disgust at what had happened. In the meantime, she was also listening to the tale of her ace pilot, while the sound of a high speed rotor blade spun in the background.

"... and then I launched in the Judicator just as the battle began to intensify. The rest, they say, is history." Shinn finished.

"Okay, alright then. Good to know. You know, you gave us quite the worry when we heard that the Impulse had disappeared." Arthur Trine stated, trying to smile a little in the process. "But at least we all know you're safe now, Shinn."

"Well, apparently my disappearance caused more than just a fright on the Minerva, it seems." Shinn responded, nudging his right shoulder in a friendly manner towards the person sitting next to him, Stella Loussier. She was sandwiched between Shinn and Kira, with Cagalli on the end, sitting across benches from Captain Gladys herself.

"I guess I'm somewhat at guilt for all of this." Talia turned back upwards from looking down below, gazing into Shinn's eyes. "But I didn't think that you would... hide a secret like that for so long... I'm just thinking of what could have happened to you if it was ever discovered that..."

"...that I lied?" Shinn questioned, while Stella placed her left hand on his shoulder and turned to look at him with caring, concerned eyes. "I guess... I guess it was a risk I was willing to take. Was I supposed to report back and state that the Princess of ORB forced me to halt my orders just as I was reaching the point of climax? I don't think that would have been a good idea. It just... I can't explain it but what I did felt like the right thing to do at the time, a gut feeling, to put it that way." He lowered his head, thinking about what Athrun Zala had stated to him in the last battle while the two were fighting it out, neck and neck, and how all the statements he made in the past bit him in the rear because of it. "Now, however, I do have some mixed feelings about what happened, although I'm too tied up in this mess to be doing anything more radical, that doesn't mean I can't feel agony from my past mistakes." Shinn finished speaking as Stella turned more towards him and placed her right palm on his face.

"Shinn, it's alright... now..." She spoke in a silent, sincere voice, trying to look into his eyes and comfort him, and hug him, although she couldn't reach behind his back with her left arm.

"Stella... it's... I'm fine, alright." He jerked a little bit and grabbed her right and, albeit gently, and stood straight up. In the meantime, all Kira could do was look at the two with a sense of wonder, and, some could say, jealously, although charging him with that would prove very difficult.

"There's no point moaning over the past when the present and future are at stake, Shinn." Talia advised.

"Part of being a human is to learn from our failures, so that we ourselves do not repeat them." Kira added.

"I know, I know." Shinn shook his head, acknowledging all of this.

"... but it still doesn't mean that you can just outright forget what's happened before. After all, you can't learn from something you've forgotten." Cagalli added even more to the conversation.

"Exactly." Shinn turned and looked at the Captain. "Now, I think Captain Gladys wanted to talk to you about something,_ Lady _Cagalli." Shinn announced, sitting back in his chair and listening, as all eyes fixed upon the ORB Princess and Zaft white suit.

"What's to become of my ship and it's crew? I can see now just what Shinn wants to do, and whatever happens to him is out of my plans, but for the rest of them on the Minerva..." Talia spoke, as Cagalli took in a deep breath.

"I'll be frank with you, Captain. As of this moment, I have absolutely no intention of giving Zaft the Minerva back, no matter how much they kick and scream over it. We know what Durandal's up to and we're not going to be foolish enough to give him any more power so that he can force his ideals upon us all. Whether or not we'll be using the ship ourselves like what Zaft is currently doing with the Archangel, is unknown, but Zaft isn't getting their hands on the Minerva" Cagalli explained in a cold, controlled, serious, and stoic voice. "However, the fate of the crew is a different story. I promised you all asylum and I'm going to keep my word. Should individual members of your crew wish to return to the PLANTs or to Zaft, assuming they can, we _might _try to talk something out with Zaft. Should they wish to stay here, under the protection of the ORB Government, they will be treated with the same degree of protection that one of our own citizens would deserve. Under some degree of surveillance, of course." Cagalli finished in a more flexible voice.

"Until the end of the war, you mean. Once some form of treaty has been 'hopefully' signed, they'll be treated as immigrants?" Talia asked, her eyes locked with Cagalli's.

"Err... correct. While I'm not going to mark the men and women who saved both my country and this world from disaster as prisoners of war, I can't just let them run around and do their own thing unnoticed. I hope that's understandable." Cagalli explained, while both Captain and Executive Officer remained silent for a bit, waiting until Cagalli decided to continue. "For what happens once the war is over... we'll cross that bridge once we get there. Right now there's bigger fish to fry."

"Chief Representative, I think once I get back to the Minerva, I'll have a chat with my crew about all of this... tell them what's available. However, I know my crew more than you do, and I do have something in mind for our future, if you're willing to discuss it with me." Talia suggested.

"I'm alright with that, Captain Gladys..." Cagalli answered, and just as the Zaft white suit was preparing to follow up, her XO decided he had a question that needed answering.

"Hey, I just remembered something! So we know that ORB's Prince and Princess are safe, but what about Captain Ramius? And the Desert Tiger? Where are they?" Arthur questioned enthusiastically, moving up in his seat a bit to listen, while Kira and Cagalli seemed to lower themselves away, as if they were not in the mood to explain anything.

"I asked them before... so did Stella, and they didn't say anything at all. I think it might not be any of our busin-" Shinn stated as Cagalli cut him off.

"NO! Enough, we've been asked several times and we've refused to answer but I guess the time has finally come for us to come clean and explain everything." Cagalli stated.

"CAGALLI! I seriously...!" Kira yelled.

"Kira! It's time... already. What's done has been done, but there's no point in keeping it hidden any longer." Cagalli answered.

"Fine! Go ahead then. It's pointless anyway." Kira huffed.

"I will, thank you very much, brother!" She looked upon the others on the helicopter as it began to take a turn to it's right. "After our encounter with the Minerva, the Archangel, as you know, survived. She was heavily damaged, but nevertheless she survived the attack, and Zaft ceased it's pursuit following that, from what I'm aware."

"That is correct. After Operation Angel Capture, we decided that there was a chance that the Archangel wasn't sunk, but we didn't have the proper mobile suits and equipment to go after her. Even the most stubborn of our ranks realized that." Talia explained.

"Before too long we met up with the ORB Fleet out in the Mediterranean, and we tried to start some serious repairs to the ship. However, it didn't take long for Alliance IFF signals to appear on our radar."

"We were told that the Archangel was attacked from a Suez force..." Arthur added.

"Yeah, a large force. They meant business, and although we had a sizable force of our own, it wasn't enough. Several of our vessels were sunk, including the Takemikazuchi, that massive carrier. Once it went down, and with only a crippled Archangel and a handful of cruisers and submarines, the Alliance told us that we could either surrender or we would all be killed right there and then. As much as I wanted to stand and fight... I have an obligation to my people, and I wasn't going to pointlessly die there, so far from home, fighting a battle that even I knew was pointless and could only serve to prove my own stubbornness." Cagalli explained as a tear rolled down her right face. She wasn't outright crying, she was too strong for that right now, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel the emotion of sadness.

"Yet you fight for your country here? Like today, on the battlefield..." Shinn spoke up.

"YEAH! And that's different!" Cagalli raged and barked back. "I was fighting today because it was for the sake of my country and to prevent it from burning. I fought because the battle was one that could be won and it was, thankfully. Out there? No! Kira was injured and our mobile suits were dropping like flies! If I went out there, I would have left my people, and this world. There was no chance that we would have been able to push them back and even then, what would we do? The Archangel was in need of repairs and could no longer fly so there was no way to get back to ORB, alright?!"

"Okay! Okay! Damn, you've proven your point!" Shinn stung back.

"Calm down..." Stella stretched out her hands gently. "It's alright..." She tried to soothe their respective angers.

"I'm fine, thank you." Cagalli gave off a low growl. "After that, however, things went down hill, and quickly. We were captured by the Alliance, and taken to Suez. We didn't know what would happen to us following that, and thankfully, Yanata Ema managed to somehow get Kira, myself, and many of the regular soldiers who had been assigned to the original expedition force safe transport back to ORB, although I couldn't do anything considering where we were once we got back. As for the others... as for... arrr..." Cagalli ceased to speak, turning down and closing her eyes as several tears rolled down her face. While the rest of them, besides the silently crying Kira, did not know what happened to the survivors, they were by no means dull enough to not take guesses. However, Cagalli managed to muster all of her strength up, and speak out before their assumptions were spoken. "... from what we know, the Alliance executed each and everyone of them for their past 'crimes', such as 'deserting' at Alaska last war, even though they used them all as sacrificial lambs. That's what we've been told right now, and there's been no new information to take it's place." Cagalli finished, wiping the tears from under her eyes and flicking them off into the air outside of the helicopter.

"My god..." Arthur found himself at a loss for words, although he wasn't the only one.

"Miss... Miss Murrue... she's... she's gone?" Stella caught her head in her hands and began to sob freely.

"Stella..." Shinn tried to close in on the crying Extended and hold her, although he knew no words would sooth her pain right now.

"Captain Ramius... and the Desert Tiger..." Talia placed her left hand on her forehead in pain. "The Alliance... something like this is right up their alley... but still... it's just... so sickening. This doesn't make sense!" Talia spoke up. "Don't you have a treaty with the Alliance?"

"Yeah, like that means anything anymore, at least to us." Kira responded in a crude, mourning sarcasm, rubbing the scar on the right side of his face.

"In the eyes of the Alliance, that treaty doesn't exist unless they're the one's benefiting from it. Notice how Zaft didn't encounter any resistance from their forces while attacking ORB?" Cagalli questioned.

"But wouldn't it be in their best interests to protect Djibril?" Arthur asked.

"It was probably assumed that we would be able to fend of Zaft on our own, I'm guessing, as they prepare to strike down against the PLANTs, _again._If they want to play that kind of nonsense game, then I'll play with them, once I reveal myself! I'm tired of ORB being treated as some sort of commodity this war! We're not going to be thrown around like a rag doll that won't fight back! That's a promise!" Cagalli roared with determination.

"You go... uh... girl!" Arthur stuck up his left hand, although he blushed from embarrassment a few seconds later as Talia gave him a perplexed glare. "Sorry..." He backed down.

"Wait, I'm missing something. You said 'once I reveal myself'? What's going on here?" Talia inquired.

"The public doesn't know that Cagalli's in ORB yet." Kira answered objectively as he wiped his own tears from his cooled-down cheeks. "Some members of the military do, but practically nobody besides that."

"And Yanata Ema... he had to have caught wind of when Mrs. Simons and Kisaka broke us free. For now... he might be just trying to calm everyone down." Cagalli stated as she stuck up her bent right arm and tapped on the back wall with her knuckles. "I've seen enough for now. Take us to Defense Headquarters." She commanded as the helicopter shifted direction again, and Cagalli looked back towards Gladys. "Don't worry, they'll know in time. Trust me. For now I've got other things to handle though, like finding out who was helping Djibril escape, and dealing with them."

"I agree, that is a difficult matter." Talia linked her hands together, while Stella seemed to finally calm down.

"Okay... okay... it's fine now..." The blonde Extended sat up and Shinn took his arms off of her, although it was clear that Kira had been watching the whole thing, although he was rather quiet about it.

"So what direction do you think the war is going to take now? Djibril is in on the run, and Zaft has been pushed back? What's ORB's next action?" Shinn questioned.

"I can't say anything for certain right now, Shinn, but the way this war is going, chances are a lot of it, both in the past and in the future, is going to be a repeat of the first one." Kira explained.

'After the battle of ORB last war they went into space... is that what he means...' Talia thought to herself as the helicopter began to descend towards the ground below.

* * *

Throughout the ORB Union, or at least in the regions that had been affected by the attack, either by directly suffering damage, or by the assumption that they would, the average man, women, and child was beginning to walk out into the lowering sunlight of the evening. For some people, they were lucky, because their homes, jobs, and livelihoods in general were intact. However, some is not the equivalent of all.

Other were not so lucky. Despite the best intentions of some of the higher-ups in Zaft to keep casualties to a minimum, there was damage done, and it was unavoidable. Entire families were devastated when they found out that the area where they once lived was being closed off due to the destruction of the area, while others were horrified when they looked upon their estates, only to find that they had been the victim of the battle. One family even managed to walk inside their house, and when they reached their living room, they were unlucky enough to see that the head of a decapitated ZAKU Warrior had decided to make it's home there, through the roof and floor, completely uninvited.

It was a tragedy along the lines of the First Bloody Valentine War, when Shinn Asuka himself lost all that he had. Like that tragedy, it gave birth to new found despair, sorrow, anger, hatred, and most of all, the desire to correct the errors that had occurred, by _use of revenge_.

From the current reports, the number of civilian casualties was incredibly low, luckily enough. Only those who sought to wallow in their own stubbornness because they thought the battle would not reach them as far inland were at risk and even then not many died. What about the memories that people keep around them in order to remind them of their past? Of better, joyful moments? Past treasures, such as photo albums, valued belongings, yearbooks, and records, whether physical or digitized? Along with the homes of many an ORB citizen, these things were gone, but unlike those homes, they could simply not be 'rebuilt', and thus were lost forever in the flames of the Second Bloody Valentine War. What does a human being become once something that cannot be recovered is lost to them? Vengeful Crusaders, that's what they can become. For some, that was what they became.

These people screamed out against the atrocities that had befallen them, they roared, because they knew why they had lost what was never to be recovered. It was Djibril, and Zaft's desire to capture them man, but not only Djibril, but the ORB Government itself that had decided to take upon itself the responsibility of protecting the man, even if it cost the soldiers and civilians of ORB dearly. Right now it seemed that it was a poor decision, as ORB only suffered, and there were no benefits in sight. The insurance companies were becoming swamped over their heads in damage claims, while government spending was, in this time, primarily devoted towards the military first and foremost. There were those who did not accept this, who were angered by this, and who, in time, would not cry, but rather march upon the people who held the mantle of responsibility upon their shoulders, and bring them down to Earth so the same mistakes could never be made again... ever, again. _Or so in their highly emotional state, theorized._

* * *

ORB Defense Headquarters:

Even though the battle had come to a conclusion some time ago, there was still a great amount of buzzing activity going about the main command room. Operators coordinated mobile suit activity, and on the displays mounted throughout the chamber, a single person could see just how ORB was responding to the damages. In the zones where the most devastation was to be found, Murasames and Astrays were literally picking up large, _large _chunks of building debris directly off of the ground and moving it about to other places, while other mobile suits patrolled the borders, just in case another threat was coming the way of ORB.

In the meantime, Cagalli had made her way towards the lower floor of the command room, with Shinn, Kira, and Stella by her side while she walked up to the central table of the room.

"Lady Cagalli!" Colonel Soiga greeted the Princess with a hearty salute, as did the other nearby soldiers.

"At ease..." She returned the favor. "So Djibril was on that shuttle, and Lord Yanata Ema Seiran is just now coming out of his shelter in the north... what about Lord Yuna Roma?" She questioned, and from the following looks she observed, she wasn't going to hear anything nice.

"From what we can tell, Lord Yuna Roma took off _with _Djibril into space."

"With him? Why... the hell? Why would Yuna do something like that?" A perplexed Cagalli scratched her head.

"It's just like him to do something like that, it's it, Cagalli?" Kira questioned calmly from behind the Princess.

"Something stupid? Damn rights!" Cagalli growled, planting her hands on the desk. "Now... who knows what kind of havoc he could cause in space..."

"Well what powers does he have, for starts?" Shinn questioned as Cagalli turned to him.

"Well for starts he can..." She blunk once, a slightly confused look on her face, that quickly turned to a light anger. "HEY! Didn't I tell you to get back to the Minerva? What are you doing over here, anyway?"

"You never told me to go back to the Minerva! I was to follow you the entire time!" Shinn barked back.

"Uh, no!" Cagalli puffed. "Now get back to your ship, already! Stella!" Cagalli turned to the other blonde, who grabbed Shinn by the arm.

"Come on, Shinn. I don't think it's wise to disobey Cagalli." Stella gave a sly grinn as the two began to walk away, although Shinn seemed to be very disgruntled, while all Kira could do was shrug his shoulders at the younger boy.

"Alright... anything Yuna can do... he'll need to time to do. Now, where's a map of the city that was attacked?" Cagalli questioned, although it took several seconds for the soldiers to carry out her orders, and during that time she grew impatient. "Come on, people! We don't have all day! I'm here to give orders, not take status reports! Already did that on my way here!" She began to snap her right fingers quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Minerva's hanger bay:

Although the ship had been docked, none of the crew members had been allowed leave up until this point. However, once Captain Gladys returned to her ship, her first course of action was to order all hands to the mobile suit hanger in order to spill the news about the ship's fate, and about the choices each of her crew members would face. As the twenty-nine year old, dark blonde haired Captain ascended above her crew on one of the platforms that would normally be used by pilots for the purpose of reaching their cockpits, both she, and her Executive Officer looked down below to the waiting, tired, yet anxiety stricken crew who they commanded. Before either of them could even speak, several of the Minerva's crew decided that now was the time to ask question after curious question.

"What happened to Shinn? Where is he anyway?"

"What about the Impulse? Was it destroyed? And that girl? What's become of her?"

"I heard rumors from some of the bridge crew, that Shinn decided to leave! Is this true?"

"What's going to happen to us?" They all barraged the two highest ranking officers at once, and while Arthur Trine was tempted to step back a little and brace himself, Captain Gladys was perfectly content with pulling and ripping her FAITH pin off of her white uniform and slamming it down on the steel rail in front of her, the sound of metal-on-metal clashing and echoing throughout the entire chamber at once, overpowering the voices of the crew as a message that their Captain was going to speak first and foremost. All eyes then fixed upon the white uniformed female as she cleared her throat, starting her speech soon after.

"My comrades... men and women, crew members aboard the vessel known as the LHM-BB01 Minerva, today marks the day where our collective service to the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty comes to an end. As you know, earlier today, I gave the order to stop Admiral Westenfluss from committing a terrible act, and because of my actions, we were marked as traitors for preventing genocide. However, we were lucky enough to be 'attacking' a nation that we have made a past with, both in terms of friendly relationships and bloodshed, and because of that relationship, our ship survived via the means of a mutual benefit to both our parties. However, like all things, this has come at a cost. Just a while ago, I was personally discussing the battle with Lady Cagalli Yula Attha, who as you all know, is the Chief Representative of the ORB Union, the one who granted us the safety we know comfort ourselves with.

I'm going to come clean though: When I spoke to her, she made it clear that ORB was to confiscate the Minerva, and that this ship would no longer be serving under Zaft even if Chairman Durandal personally struck down the Admiral's decree. I have no idea what she intends to do with the ship, however, I am relieved to tell you all that we are all in understanding hands. For our efforts, ORB is prepared to grant each and everyone of us safety within their borders for the remainder of the war, or, if they are able to properly negotiate it, a chance to return to the PLANTs. The ladder, in my opinion, is highly unlikely, given the current relationship that exists between ORB and the Supreme Council." She explained as several of the men below her began to bark out loud.

"So we can't fight anymore?"

"What the hell?"

"I demand that she comes here right now and tells us personally what's happening!"

"You still haven't confirmed what happened to Shinn? Where's our Super Ace?"

"Yeah! Where is the guy?"

"QUIET! QUIET! I WILL NOT HAVE ANARCHY WHILE I'M SPEAKING!" Gladys slammed the badge down onto the rail once more like a judge smashing their gavel down onto it's sound block, the crew taming their voices again. "Stop it... regarding Shinn..." Talia began, when suddenly the sound or a roaring engine burst into hearing range from outside, and Captain Gladys turned to look towards the starboard side hanger bay door, which was opened up for the sake of quickly exiting or entering the ship en mass. Within seconds, the black, red, and somewhat blue gundam known as the ORB-04 Judicator flew inside the chamber and landed on it's two feet, while the shining silver ORB-03 Demoness followed suit. "Speak of the devil..." She grumbled. Arthur simple stuck his hand up and waved towards the massive machine as they lowered their heads and bent their wings downwards once entering their main chamber. The crew, having seen these machines up close for the first time, were shocked and completely focused their attention onto them. The Judicator walked towards the platform and itself downwards slightly, released a small amount of steam from it's chest vents and then opened it's cockpit. The Demoness followed suit except it didn't go near the platform and unlike Shinn, who stepped onto the platform, Stella was content with leaning against the front of her suit from it's cockpit door which she was now standing on.

"So it is you!"

"He's a wearing an ORB pilot's suit! Does that mean the rumors are true?"

"Damn, you're safe! And... what's that?"

"It certainly isn't the Impulse! It's much bigger."

"And darker... the limbs are glowing for damn's sake! That machine's badass!"

"So is the other one! It's silver! Wait, who's that pilot?"

"It's the girl Shinn rescued earlier! The one who was in the sick bay for however long."

"Stella Loussier." The crew gossiped among themselves until Talia found herself once again using her FAITH pin in a way for which it was never intended.

"Eh em." The Captain coughed, looking at Shinn expectantly as the red eyed teen nodded in her direction and then focused on the crew below.

"Well, what am I supposed to say?" Shinn questioned in an odd, awkward manner, only to have his Captain lightly smack him upside the head. "Hey!"

"What the hell happened to you?" Bart shouted from down below as Talia stuck up the FAITH pin again.

"Don't make me use this again!" She threatened, lowering her voice to advise Shinn. "They think you're dead and have been worried sick about what happened to you! Amend that, obviously!"

"Right." Shinn responded, taking a deep breath. "Well, I'm here as you can see, and yes, I am wearing an ORB normal suit, and if you look in the right place, the machine behind me is of ORB origin." He paused, and took another deep inhale. "Yes, I am no longer a soldier of Zaft, I have returned back to my home of nationality; to ORB. While this was partially planned, it would be too difficult to explain right now, and some parts of the conversations I had in the past are a matter of privacy. I know this may come as a shock to most of you, but in the end, it was my decision to fight for ORB, for my own reasons. I know you may think of me as a traitor, and as a hypocrite, but that's your right. However, this does not mean that my main reason for piloting a mobile suit has changed. I detest Logos as much as any of you do, and I do not wish to see any more lives in the PLANTs lost. In addition to this, I've been informed about Chairman Durandal's true intentions, and that is not something I personally align myself with..." Shinn went on.

'The Destiny Plan. Oh, you were ready to tell us all about that during our little ride in the plane... Durandal, you certainly know how to play your cards and slide your hands well...' Talia shook her head in disagreement while Shinn continued.

"Right now..." Shinn tried as Talia put her hand over his chest.

"That's enough..." She interrupted, taking center stage again. "Alright, hopefully that settles all the rumors about Shinn." She stated with bitter aftertaste. "Now, I know I've told you all about what ORB intends to do with us, but there's another option I wish to bring up. We are soldiers, and we all fight for our own reasons. For some of us, being forced out of action is upsetting, and for others, what I'm about to suggest is going to be good enough reason for you to stop fighting, rather than consider my proposal."

'Is she going to? I think she is!' Stella thought to herself.

"When I joined Zaft, I joined them under the assumption that I was going to become a soldier who fought to protect their loved ones back home. That our target would be those who sought to endanger the people of the PLANTs for petty reasons; those who, like us, had swords at the ready, but unlike us, were well willing to use them for harming those who did not. I always wanted to be a soldier who could tell someone else that I fought either for freedom, life, or for the purpose of defense. NOT for the sake of slaughter in order to get their own way. NOT a soldier who thought they could get what they wanted via the use of ransoms and pointing guns at the heads of those who couldn't fight back, metaphorically speaking. Finally, NEVER as the strident aggressor unless it was necessary. Absolutely necessary. For most of this war, that has been the case. However, in the background, darkness has lurked inside of Zaft.

We broke Junius Seven, and I felt proud. We defended Carpentaria, and I was content. We freed an entire town's worth of innocents from the malcontent that is the Earth Forces, and I smiled in my sleep. We defended the Dardanelles the people who were liberated there, and I was slightly on edge because of some of the actions taken during the later half of that battle, but nevertheless, I was faithful to Zaft and the Chairman. Soon after, we stood against the Destroy, and despite it's overwhelming firepower, we proved victorious and saved millions from certain death. Following that, was Operation Angel Capture." She stopped for a second, for the sake of emphasis. "I did not agree with the objective of that Operation but nevertheless I knew it was **justified** given the current state of world relations, and that my own feelings would just stand in the way.

Operation Ragnarok the next big combat objective we took part in, and despite the despair and terror that the Alliance through at us, and my own gut feeling to fall back, we won. Then..." She slammed the FAITH pin down again, and scrapped it against the rail, to purposefully scratch it's polished surface. "... then this cursed day found us, and as you all know, I had had enough. If Zaft is going to make it clear that people like Kendan Westenfluss are going to be in charge of their forces, and if our own forces are going to turn on us without hesitation like they did today, then I'll have no part of it, not after what he tried to do earlier. The line has been crossed, and because of that, I now officially renounce my association with Zaft, and with to join Shinn and ORB in their fight against Logos." She finished, while a wave of 'awes' passed through the crowd below.

"Captain... are you..." Arthur questioned with bug eyes.

"Captain... you're serious?" Shinn also asked.

"Whoa! What?" Stella was shaken in her boots.

"You heard me talking about this with Cagalli earlier, didn't you? Well, are you going to come along too, Arthur?" Talia turned towards her crew again. "I've already talked this over, and I've been allowed to do this, as odd as it sounds. I'll tell you this, my crew: One man, who more often then not I find myself vehemently disagreeing with, once had something very wise to say, and those words have lasted throughout the ages. Edmund Burke once said that 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.', and that is why I've made my choices. When I'm done speaking, I'm going to allow Shinn to explain what he's learned to you all. Know right now that you can leave at anytime, the door is over there." She pointed towards the open catapult door. "If you wish to stay however, and listen, as the fine, noble men and women who I know each and everyone of you are, then understand that this offer, has been extended to you as well, should you choice to accept it, and stand and fight. Now, without further adeau..." Talia stepped aside and allowed the raven haired pilot to come forward again, to speak of Destiny itself...

* * *

Twenty-one hundred hours, Carpentaria time, Archangel:

"Wow, I didn't believe it would come to that!" Heine spoke as he walked down the hallway with his fellow red shirt and FAITH pilot, Athrun Zala. Both of the pilots had just recently observed the 'hearing' regarding Admiral Westenfluss and were now headed back towards the lounge of the ship, where Lunamaria and Rey said they would be waiting.

"Me neither..." Athrun responded, with not a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

"Awe... what were you expecting?" Heine questioned to his somewhat shorter, blue haired comrade.

"I was expecting something to actually be done! Even if it was a slap on the wrist, for Christ's sake! But... for the Supreme Council to just barge in and openly release him, stating that the matter would be _outright overlooked _is an abomination!" Athrun ranted.

"Athrun... do you know who you're talking about? It's my father..." Heine alerted with expressing eyes while the two entered one of the ship's vacant elevators.

"HEINE!" Athrun slammed his right fist directly into the wall of the elevator as the door closed behind the two and the platform started to rise. "I know he's your father, and I know he was one of my instructors in the past, but this is different! No, I didn't want to see him get anything too harsh, even considering what happened, but for _nothing _to happen? Not good enough? It was a clear violation! Do you remember what that women said?" Athrun asked.

"What women?"

"The old one, who was about sixty or so! She said 'this isn't a black or white matter, it's actually a rather mysterious shade of gray', or something like that!" Athrun spat in anger. "To hell with that kind of fallacious thinking which has cost so many people their lives! It was a clear disregard for both orders and ethics!" Athrun vented, breathing out, while Heine kept his cool.

"Perhaps, but I think that women did bring up a good point though." Heine began.

"And what could that have **_possibly _**been?"

"That FAITH members have the ability to command the battlefield as they see fit, remember? I'm sure you take that trait to heart while you're on the field, right? I mean, I'm not trying to justify what my father did! It does border genocide, but I think sometimes we need to think of things objectively and have an open mind." Heine suggested as the door opened and the two walked forward.

"That sounds alright, but consider this." Athrun looked directly at Heine, green eyes to green eyes. "Open minds lead to indecisiveness and indecisiveness leads to pointless deaths and failure. I know that now, after two wars in this Era." Athrun explained while the two entered the lounge where their friends were waiting.

"True, but..."

"ATHRUN! HEINE!" Lunamaria yelled over the orange haired pilot as she jumped from her seat and walked towards the two. "So, how did... everything go?" She asked in a more sterile, but worried tone.

"We'll talk about it later." Rey announced from the far side of the room. "There's something on right now. Apparently ORB has decided that they want to make a world-wide announcement regarding Operation Justice." The blonde pointed out, looking at the screen on the other side of the room and directing the attention of the other three towards it.

"Oh, good! Hopefully they don't deploy the same ignorant buffoon as they did last time, eh?" Heine asked as he sat down near Athrun.

"Yeah, tell me about it." A chilled Athrun answered, getting comfortable as Yanata Ema Seiran stepped up to the stage and coughed once to clear his elderly throat. "Nope, it's his father this time."

"Shh...!" Rey bugged, intent on listening to every word.

"This is the current Prime Minister of the ORB Union, Lord Yanata Ema Seiran. Today, I am using the media of the entire Earth Sphere, in order to send a message to the PLANT Supreme Council, as well as it's Chairman, Gilbert Durandal, regarding his demands to hand over Lord Djibril, and his subsequent decision to invade our country. The Chairman's recent speech denouncing the group known as Logos, along with various pieces of evidence supporting his accusations, has had a great, yet terrible impact on all of us. The Chairman called for the destruction of Logos, a campaign, which by it's very nature, violates the Sovereignty of many nations of the Earth in order to achieve it's objectives. In the end, he hoped to achieve the ideal state of a 'war-less world', a twisted pipe dream of detached intellectuals who cannot understand human nature. In lieu of the attack, I cannot simply stand by and allow something like this to simply pass, both as a politician, and as a father. However, the methods Zaft has begun to empl-" Yanata's feed was assaulted by static, his voice fading and becoming blurry, only to have the entire screen shift from one location to the next, and this time, it was someone completely different who had taken the reigns.

"My friends, it is I, Lacus Clyne!" The light pink haired, aqua-eyed pop singer announced outloud, the set of her broadcast in the background matching that which would be seen in a recording studio. "Today there was a fierce battle that took place at ORB, I'm certain everyone knows about it. Why would a nation that was such a close friend to the PLANTs... make the decision to shelter this Djibril character within it's borders? I'm still confused and having a difficult time understanding this! Why would ORB be willing to go to war in order to protect this man, this leader of Blue Cosmos, this **_MURDERER! _**A man who doesn't hesitate to fire nuclear weapons at the PLANTs! Who uses weapons of mass destruction to burn down whole cities! Who uses children as tools in combat! Because ORB protected this abomination of a human being, we failed once again. We were unable to apprehend him! Our world is filled with all sorts of temptations! There is no crime in wanting better things, in wanting more than what you already have! However, Logos is different! It should not be allowed to exist, under any circumstance whatsoever! There is no place for such _clear-cut _evil in this world! What we're trying to do is right, no matter wha-" Once again, the screen and audio were interrupted by static, site of the broadcast, and it's speaker, shifting once again. This time, however, would be the last.

* * *

"Thank you, Kira. Make sure they can't override me."

"I was thinking the same thing. Time to put my computer skills to use." The Ultimate Coordinator stated, cracking his knuckles as he stepped off of the screen, where only the blonde Lioness now sat in a chair alone, in the ORB Defense Headquarters.

"Please do not be deceived, whether it be a treasonous Prime Minister, OR a civilian who is overstepping her bounds." The golden eyed women announced, her gaze looking through the lens towards everyone out there watching. "Greetings, I am the true Chief Representative of the ORB Union, Princess Cagalli Yula Attha. I apologize to each and everyone of you for the nonsense that has occurred on this day, and I hope to set things straight, if you'll allow me to." Cagalli stated with the look of a strong, confident, and devoted leader.

'Kira... and Cagalli...' Athrun thought to himself.

"That's... I thought it was impossible... both of them! They're alive, and what are they doing back in ORB?" Gilbert Durandal asked himself, looking at his computer monitor with an utterly perplexed gaze, wrapping his head around it all.


	13. Phase 42: Roar of the Lioness

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Author's Note:

1) You know, before I wrote the first part of this chapter, I went back and watched the first third of GSD44, to see exactly what the characters said... and what happened was essentially useless and a waste of time while bad music played in the background. However, there was one thing of interest:

Talia, as she walked into the Minerva's bridge: "Don't bother asking me, I have no idea what the real story here is either. Well, there is one thing I do know. Fake or not, **Lacus Clyne isn't our commanding officer. It's not as if she gives us our orders...**

ExArchmagus: Well, at least we know of one character in GSD who actually had a brain in their head. Ironic how at the end of the series the majority of people who actually had the capacity to think and use logic were on the bad side... Talia, Durandal, Rey. XD

2) I had some people, via PM, express their concerns over the fate of the original Archangel crew, and that they were executed by the Earth Alliance, and that I didn't include a 'flashback' scene, expressing what happened. Don't worry, I'll show the last stand of the Archangel/ORB Fleet in time, just not right now. The consequences of that event have not fully played out, yet. You'll see why when it happens.

3) A vector of the Assassin has been added to my deviant art gallery, in case you want to see what the gundam would actually look like.

4) Long chapter, character development, lots of speeches... yeah. Word count right now is about 14.3k according to my document because FF editor somehow increases it whenever you use those black breaks lines.

* * *

So where did we leave off again?

_"Please do not be deceived, whether it be a treasonous Prime Minister, OR a civilian who is overstepping her bounds." The golden eyed women announced, her gaze looking through the lens towards everyone out there watching. "Greetings, I am the true Chief Representative of the ORB Union, Princess Cagalli Yula Attha. I apologize to each and everyone of you for the nonsense that has occurred on this day, and I hope to set things straight, if you'll allow me to." Cagalli stated with the look of a strong, confident, and devoted leader._

_'Kira... and Cagalli...' Athrun thought to himself._

_"That's... I thought it was impossible... both of them! They're alive, and what are they doing back in ORB?" Gilbert Durandal asked himself, looking at his computer monitor with an utterly perplexed gaze, wrapping his head around it all._

* * *

With Cagalli:

"I know that my sudden reappearance during these terrible times is a shocking event for everyone, not only my own citizens, but it couldn't be helped. During this war, I have been witness to a great many calamities, and I have faced numerous hardships, both as ORB's Commander and Chief, and as a Mobile Suit Pilot in my own right. However, that does not mean I lack a stance on the terrible situation which has enveloped the Earth Sphere, both for naturals and coordinators. Firstly, I find it my duty to apologize to all of my people, for the actions and policies put into place under the rule of the Seiran family, and I swear to make every effort possible to undo the damages done in my absence as soon as I am able. Secondly, I take every comfort, and every caution, in informing the world that I no ally to either Lord Djibril, Head of Logos, or Chairman Gilbert Durandal of the Supreme Council."

"Is that so?" Durandal raised an eyebrow, content to drink a small glass of some liquor as he focused on the Princess.

"As of this moment in time, I see no reason whatsoever to side with Logos, for the evidence of their crimes has weaved itself into the very fabric of our complex society, and their wrongs are incalculable in number. I know that this may come as a surprise to many of you, since ORB has been accused of defending Logos and protecting Lord Djibril, and that all the major newspaper corporations around the world are likely preparing an article addressing the situation at this very moment. Know now that I personally took part in the battle to defend ORB, so there's no denying that a confrontation took place, and I know that suspicious feelings must be at an all time high right now. However, to assume that I was fighting out there _for _Logos is a _non sequitur_.

Each and everyone of the soldiers that were bravely battling today alongside me, under my command, were fighting for their families, for their homeland, for it's protection, for it's right to independently exist, and for it's right to freedom. Having only recently returned to ORB myself, I was swiftly thrown into the battle to defend my nation, and because of that reason, I did not have enough time to secure Lord Djibril and prevent him from escaping. Should I have been able to take command of the situation sooner, or if Zaft were willing to leave us be and allow us to handle our own private situations within our own secure borders, then I swear on the honor, name, and grave of my father, Lord Uzumi Nara Attha, that Lord Djibril, one way or the other, would have been brought to justice, tried, and incarcerated for his actions during the First and Second Bloody Valentine Wars, as well as his deep connections to the terrorist organization known as Blue Cosmos." Cagalli breathed in heavily after righteously coughing up that mouthful, smacking her right palm down onto the table in front of her like an angry, scorned women in need of a vent.

"Good..." Kira turned back towards Cagalli and winked with his right eye, a proud grin formed from his lips.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but those are just words, however proud and comforting they may be. Until Lord Djibril is truly neutralized, neither I, nor the forces of Zaft, shall truly find rest." Durandal looked at the screen with a face of a true skeptic, awaiting her next action. Surprisingly, instead of speaking once more, the blonde Lioness searched through a stack of papers in front of her, until she found a certain document, and took it up into her own hands, displaying it for the camera.

"This is the treaty that was signed at the break out of the Second War which has consumed our beloved even now. Originally, it was intended to aid in the relief efforts following the 'Break the World' incident, but any intellectual who has taken the time to look the contents of this document, knows full well what it's true intentions were: The unification of all major military powers on Earth, for the purpose of attacking the PLANT homeland. I am not going to go into details about how I signed this agreement as much as I am going to point out one thing. Section Two, Article Five: States that in the event of any signed member nation come under heavy attack from an opposing force, whether it be a conscious military, or unconscious natural disaster, all other signed member nations are to commit, in some way shape or form, to it's defense, and to it's following recovery." Cagalli frowned, let down the paper, and allowed it to drop onto the left side of the desk with a slight thud.

"Today, ORB was forced to defend it's borders on it's own, and suffered great infrastructural damages, without any hint of aid from either the Atlantic or Eurasian Federations, or any of the other nations that signed this treaty. It is for that explicit violation alone, that I hereby exercise my right as Chief Representative of the ORB Union, and declare all ties and obligations of this treaty to be null and void." She spoke neutrally, although with a brimming anger, before pulling a small lighter out of her left pocket, igniting the flame with a flick of her tomboyish thumb, and set the document ablaze on the desk, a mere three feet from her.

From a long distance away, on the Moon, a certain man clapped his hands together with glee.

"Congratulations, Cagalli, on tearing down all that we sought to build!" Yuna Roma Seiran coughed.

"I wouldn't be too worried. She has a big mouth, but she, alongside that fool Durandal are about to learn a few lessons that they will never forget." Djibril smirked with pride, massaging the fur of his noir feline.

"Now, onto my final point for this evening." Cagalli straightened herself up in the chair she sat in, the fire by her side growing at a controlled rate while the broken document burned. "This is a message directed towards Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal: Your objective is sound, but your methods are very questionable. You have declared intentions to annihilate war forever, yet today, during the battle right here in the ORB Union, our coastline found itself seconds away from destruction at the hands of one of your battleships. In addition to this, you have failed to address the world with your solution to a world without war. Sure, Logos may die out, that's a possibility, but follows after that? What happens... say fifty, or a hundred years down the road, when both you and I, as well as everyone watching this broadcast, are dead. What if another cartel of fascist death dealers was formed?

Another Logos, under a new name, under a new group of people, but with the same ideas and intentions of old? How do you plan to address this, even if you have thought it out? If you haven't, then you are very naïve in thinking that this Logos will end all war, and if you have, then why not tell us all, right now? What do you have to hide? What is this truth that you seek to keep contained from us? Is it because it is a concept goes against popular opinion, definitions of right and wrong, and current status quo right now?" Cagalli tilted her head to the right while staring into the screen coldly and objectively, as if to look directly into Durandal's soul, and silently taunt him. "Until you reveal your solution to this world, and come clean to each and every listening human being in the Earth Sphere, then I cannot grant you one iota of trust whatsoever and that is a fact. Now, thank you all for listening, and good night." Cagalli turned to her right and winked with it's respective eye three times in a row, the broadcast coming to it's end within the following seconds.

Depressing a key on his intercom, Durandal only had a few words to say: "Get me in contact with Rulski. I need to modify his orders, now."

* * *

Archangel lounge:

"Fiesty." Was all Heine could muster as he smiled at the screen. 'It will make victory all the more enjoyable...'

"Well, I guess there's a reason why they call her a 'Lioness'..." Lunamaria crossed her arms.

"She's toying with us and she knows it." Athrun stared at the blank screen with a grumpy expression. "They already know of the Destiny Plan, and so she's trying to blackmail the Chairman. It's dishonesty at it's finest. Besides, any leader worth their salt will save their best moves for when it's needed."

"I have to be in agreement with you, Athrun, considering the tales my father told me about PLANT politics leading up to and during the war." Heine stood up again.

"Yeah..." The Red Knight scratched an itch on the back of his neck. "Rey, what do you think of all this?" Athrun questioned. He then turned to where he thought the blonde was, only to see a red suit marching away out the lounge. "REY?" He stuttered a bit forward.

"Grr..." Was all that could be heard from the other side of the door leading out of the room.

"What's up with him these days? He's... a bit off..." Lunamaria looked up at the pair of green eyed Ace pilots.

"He's probably tired from the battle." Heine suggested.

"Yeah, so am I... doesn't mean I walk away from my friends growling." Athrun rolled his eyes, clearly ticked off. 'There's something... else about Rey... he's changing... but I cannot for the life of me put my finger on it...'

In the meantime, walking down the Archangel's hallways, was Rey, bent over slightly with his bleached hair forward on his head, making harsh noises as he held his left hand out in front, the palm shaking uncontrollably. 'That speech went on a little longer than I'd have liked...'

* * *

Seiran Estate, ten minutes later:

The oak entrance door of the Mansion was brutally forced open as many armed, ORB Soldiers charged into the estate and spread out, going in different directions. Among the people who were entering the building, Cagalli, Kira, Shinn, and even Ledonir Kisaska were among them, the former bodyguard leading the three teens as he spoke into a hand held radio. It would be noted, however, that the pilots of the Veneficus and Judicator were still, after all this time, wearing their pilot's uniforms.

"Secure the perimeter. We mustn't let Lord Yanata make any moves. While you're at it, scour the Mansion for any signs of Logos. Perhaps we'll get lucky and find that Djibril dropped something when he ran for his life." Kisaka ordered as more soldier continued to pour in.

"Affirmative, sir." One of the soldiers, armed with an assault rifle and wearing a large pair of intricate glasses stated as he marched towards the stair spire of the house and climbed towards the upper decks.

"Make sure Yanata is brought before me, _unharmed_, alright? I want to have a chat with the old man." Cagalli ordered, moving up to Kisaka's right side.

"Of course, Lady Cagalli." Kisaka answered.

XXXXXX

A few minutes later:

After the ORB forces had searched high and low throughout the house, it's Lord stood before the Lioness. From what she heard, the occupants of the mansion, while all gathered in the entrance hall, had surrendered peacefully. Despite this, neither Cagalli nor Kisaka were taking any chances. ORB soldiers lined the entrance hall from both the ground and upper levels, while several soldiers stood behind windows that looked upon the entrance from some of the bedrooms above.

"Everything's been searched. No immediate signs of Djibril anywhere." One of the soldiers whispered to Kisaka as Cagalli moved forward to Yanata, the stout old man standing and looking her in the face with an emotionless expression.

"So I wonder how she'll berate..." Shinn tried to whisper to Kira, only to have the Ultimate Coordinator raise his left hand to stop him, making a 'shush' sound in the process.

"Lord Yanata Ema Seiran of the ORB Union... I must thank you for what you've done for me and my twin brother." Cagalli began. "However, that does not excuse the numerous acts of treason that have been committed by both you, and your son, Yuna Roma Seiran. Now my question is, what do you have to say for yourself, after all this?" She questioned in the utter silence of the room.

"I have no comment, but to ask for your most sincere forgiveness, my Princess." Yanata answered with a cold expression. Cagalli simply closed her eyelids together a tad.

"My sincere forgiveness? Do you know that your son, has now left our nation alongside one of the worst mass murderers in human history? Tell me, what is Yuna's grand scheme in all of this? Following Djibril? What purpose does that serve?" Cagalli asked, raising her voice somewhat. Yanata simply remained silent, if only for a second. All this did was piss of the Princess even more. "WELL?" Her voice echoed throughout the well decorated entrance hall.

In the meantime, one of the ORB soldiers, the one who had the glasses and who was speaking to Kisaka earlier, was playing close attention to his surroundings, looking to see if anyone was directly watching him...

"I am sorry... I know that Yuna has left our great lands, but I had no part to play in his departure." Yanata raised his right hand up as Cagalli seemed to growl slightly in response. "Please, let me explain: Today, I ordered the shelters opened and the army to go on alert, to counter the oncoming attack. However, before I went into my own shelter, Yuna told me he had to make a stop at the Defense Headquarters... I allowed him to leave quickly before the assault intensified... and I haven't seen him nor heard from him since." Yanata explained. Cagalli huffed in response. If she was able to puff steam from her nostrils, then she would.

In the meantime, the soldier in the window stepped back a bit and began to raise his rifle upwards.

"Do you know what's happened on this day? Well, do you?" Cagalli questioned, clenching her right fist.

"I took care of things while you were gone, _Princess._"

"You're lucky I think it's a crime to hurt one's elders..." She opened her right hand and articulated the four fingers and single thumb, extending and folding them back and forth a little. "You allowed an off-step clone of Adolf Hitler into our country and put his life before the well being of your own people? Not to mention... what I heard you were doing to the coordinator population while I was missing! The Takemikazuchi... that was a massive vessel, and I know something of it's scale could only be constructed in the time frame that it was... if some forceful measures were taken, am I right?" She leaned forward aggressively.

"Correct..." Yanata silently acknowledged.

"Now the shores of our nation lie in the wake of complete devastation, and there's a large mess of domestic policy for me to take care of, ON TOP of the current wartime situation." She leaned back and lowered her skull in anger.

In the meantime, the soldier released the safety lock on his rifle, and ensured that it was loaded and prepared to fire.

"You're not the only one to blame here. It's just as much my fault for failing to uphold my own values and running away from this country when I was given an untimely choice." Cagalli stomped forward. "BUT WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? HUH? We may have had different opinions, but I truly thought that we shared the same desire to protect the nation!" She grabbed Yanata by his collar and pulled him close towards him, getting right up in his face. "WHAT THE HELL DROVE YOU TO PROTECT DJIBRIL? WHAT THE HELL DROVE YOU TO SIGN THAT TREATY, AND WHAT THE HELL DROVE YOU TO... TO... LOOK AT WHAT'S BECOME OF ORB THANKS TO YOU! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY AS AN EXPLANATION FOR ALL OF THIS, YANATA EMA?!" The Lioness verbally clawed and bit at the old man.

In the meantime, the soldier prepared himself, while all eyes were focused on the Princess and Prime Minister, his sights lining directly up to her backside as she berated him on and off.

"Who cares... you'll never know... goodbye, brat." The soldier grinned as he slowly pulled the trigger back, millimeter by millimeter.

"Well! Tell me! Answer me!" Cagalli raged, a struggled and sweating Yanata Ema trying to respond as he felt his head tilt upward, and his mind attempted to form some kind of answer to the onslaught of burning questions from the Princess, when suddenly...

"For Destiny..." The soldiers pulled back even more.

"PRINCESS!" Yanata's eyes burst open. The leader of the Seiran House suddenly grabbed the Lady Cagalli by her sides and swerved both of them around as the sound of a loud assault rifle dominated all other sounds in the room, several lead bullets blazing from the upper levels indoor windows towards the two people in the center of the hallway, while blood began to splatter from their impact, the sound of tortured screaming, both male and female in nature, echoed and filled the entire chamber. Immediately, the rest of the ORB soldiers quickly turned towards the one rogue and unleashed a bullet storm in his general direction, but it was too late, for he had already retreated into the room and was making his way elsewhere...

"CAGALLI!" Kira, Shinn, and Kisaka each screamed at the top of their lungs as both the Princess and Yanata fell to the ground and blood began to pour from the spot.

"DAMMIT!" Shinn yelled as he rushed over to the girl, with Kira by his side.

"No! You two!" Kisaka ordered.

"WHAT?" Shinn raged, when suddenly Kisaka pulled two assault rifles out of the hands of two guards and tossed them towards the boys.

"Catch!" Luckily, they did. "Follow him! Get him! I'll take care of the situation here, I know I've got a hell of a lot more First Aid and Trauma experience then both of you combined, TWICE, and your suits might take him by surprise! GO!" Kisaka ordered.

"But..." Shinn expressed his worry, as well as something else...

"NOW!" Kira turned towards the other boy and screamed, gripping the rifle in hand. "I know this place, a little..." Kira bit his bottom lip.

Suddenly though, the entire estate seemed to shake violently and the smoke alarms went off on full, the vibrations causing dust to flake off of the roof and several vases and painting to fall from their positions onto the ground.

* * *

"That'll teach em!" The backstabbing soldier laughed as he spat aside a grenade's safety pin. Behind him there was a corner, and around that corner, the sound of suffering, injured soldiers was being muffled out by an explosive blaze as the spy continued onwards, down the hallway. Once he reached the end of it, he quickly made sure that no one was following him and then kicked right side side door at the end of it, rushing inside the dark room. "Huh... huh... onto the balcony!" He breathed deeply while running outside the room. He then looked to his left, which was were the grand entrance was, to see if anyone was there, and surprisingly, there wasn't. "This must be my lucky day!" Smirking, he threw his assault rifle down onto the ground, manually climbing down from the second story balcony afterwords, his speed and endurance one that would without a doubt, belong to a coordinator. "Easy! Now to..." He reached the ground and tried to quickly grab his rifle, only to find himself under seige from suppressive fire. "SHIT!"

"SURRENDER, NOW!" Kira yelled at the top of his lungs, coming from around the corner of one of the entrance columns and opening up with his rifle, unleashing shot after shot from his gun, forcing the spy to hid behind another one of the Seiran estate's columns.

"Well... well... well... if it isn't ORB's Prince? I've heard tales of your mobile suit capabilities, but never of your firearms skill!" The spy laughed to himself as several bullets flew by the column, some of them clashing into it and chipping off pieces of it's concrete edges.

"Shut up! Damn you!" Kira yelled in a fit of rage, depressing the trigger continually, only to find that he was eventually out of ammo. "Shit!" He pulled back and gave a nod to one of the soldiers inside the manor, who tossed him another clip as he purged the empty one.

"My turn to run, but before I do!" The spy quickly came out of his hiding place and bent over towards his rifle, only to notice something. 'He managed to somehow land a stray shot on the trigger and bend it out of place? Just my luck!' He groaned in anger, taking off in the distance away from the estate, to round it's corner and go back along the side.

'He left his gun?' Kira pondered. "GET BACK HERE!" Adrenaline quickly pumped it's way through the Ultimate Coordinator's body as he burst into a quick sprint after the man with his own gun in hand.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" The spy barked back at Kira as he rounded the corner and blitzed towards the forest behind the Seiran Estate, where he would be able to make his escape once and for all. "COME AT ME!" He entered the crowd of trees just as the gun fire started up again. "Alright then you asshole... time to show you just how vulnerable you are when you're not curb stomping everything in that damn mobile suit!" The spy reached for a little pouch on his side loosened its straps so that he could take it off of his body, and then unzipped the pouch itself.

"Damn... he's gotten into the forest... whatever, you try to kill Cagalli... I'll make sure I get to the bottom of this!" Kira rubbed the scar on the right side of his face while he followed the spy into the woods. Finding the man was rather difficult. It was already late evening and considering how little light was actually making it through the canopy, there was very little visibility, However, once Kira caught sight of the man, he did not hesitate to open fire.

"Damn that kid's fast... but is he fast enough make it around this?" The spy questioned. He then zipped the pouch back up with all due haste and threw it behind the tree he was taking over on, towards Kira. 'That's several... smoke and explosive grenades... may not kill him... but...' He was nearly deafened by the detonation while several trees burst into flames. "GOOD LUCK, AMATURE!" The spy shouted over all the burning wood and puffing smoke, continuing forward deeper into the forest, eventually eying something in the distance. 'Once I make it over this ridge... well... good luck finding me...' He smirked, preparing his legs to make a jump off the side of a sheer, but shallow cliff, racing towards it at at high speeds. "GERONIMO!"

The sound a handgun bullet bursting from it's barrel braced the entire area, the spy hearing the sound from his right _after _the extreme pain of having a chunk of lead impact his right knee at an incredibly quick velocity broke him down and knocked him onto the ground, several feet from the cliff, but in too much pain to do anything with legs as his glasses flopped from his skull off of the edge, never to be seen again.

"No... dammit... dammit... dammit... FUCK!" The spy swore as he leg bled the deep red liquid known as blood. Following that, he heard footsteps, running footsteps, and before too long a certain red eyed, black haired pilot appeared from behind some trees, wielding the weapon that had halted him right in his tracks. "Yo... YOU!"

"It looks like you're not going anywhere soon. I suggest you try and apply some pressure there so you don't bleed out." Shinn warned, his face one of disgust and his voice that a teenager who just loved to be condescending whenever he was allowed.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" The spy, between all his huffing and puffing, screamed in pain and anger, when suddenly Shinn pointed his weapon forward and fired, striking the ground a mere inches from the man's nose.

"You used to have the right to speak, but then I put a bullet in your knee." Shinn smirked a cocky expression, only to receive a look of utter, utter contempt from the spy. A few seconds later Kira came out from the burning woods behind the two and approached Shinn. "So shut up!" Shinn warned with an utter hatred.

"That's him?" Kira's muscles seemed to tense up as he looked down upon the man lying on the ground, bleeding.

"Well, what do you think?" Shinn asked sarcastically.

"This..." Kira dropped the rifle in his hand and immediately pounced on top of the man's chest and started to issue out several quick punches to the face. "HOW BLOODY DARE YOU!" He slammed his right fist into the man's jaw and seemed to break a couple of his teeth. "WHO THE HELL SENT YOU!" He punched again! "YOU TRIED TO TAKE CAGALLI'S LIFE! THAT'S NOT EASILY FORGIVEN, ESPEICALLY BY ME!" Kira continued to pound away at the beaten, defeated spy. The look in his eyes, the expression on his face, and the way his body moved... it was like a warrior, a warrior who just had everything precious to him taken away in an instant and now he was fighting back.

"KIRA! KIRA WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!" Shinn yelled, falling to his knees and trying to grab Kira and pull him away. "KIRA STOP IT! NOW! WE'VE GOT HIM!" Shinn struggled against the raging Ultimate Coordinator, who seemed to have a strength advantage over him, if only just.

"NO WAY!" Kira barked back.

"NO! WE NEED TO QUESTION HIM AND SEE WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! DAMMIT! THIS ISN'T DOING ANYTHING!" Shinn yelled at the top of his lungs, his normal suit getting soaked in the blood from the spy's wound.

"STOP!" Kira growled back, unleashing one more punch directly at the spy's forehead.

"DAMMIT YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE BEHAVING JUST LIKE ME!" Shinn shouted over top off all the other yelling, kicking and screaming. "DO YOU EVEN REALIZE THAT?" He questioned among all the raging punches and fire burning in the background. Suddenly, as Kira was about to unleash another, _final _punch towards the bruised, bleeding, tooth broken man, he stopped, and pulled back his arm...

"What..." The brunette blinked twice, hearing Shinn's words and being utterly paralyzed by them. It was odd, as if a role reversal had taken place, for now Shinn seemed very well to be the rational one, which was usually a first. "You're... you're right..."

"Now get the hell of off him... he's not goi-" Shinn ordered when the spy made one final move. With all of his remaining strength he launched his left arm forward at the speed of a cobra and ripped the handgun out of Shinn's hands. "SHIT!" Shinn burst upward and stepped down, hard, onto the spy's left elbow to prevent him from aiming the firearm at either Kira or himself. That didn't matter though, for the spy still presented himself with a smile as the two blood soaked boys fixed their gazes upon his trashed body.

"There are... worse fates then death... My life... so that you may be purposed..." The spy grinned while he made use of what movement he had left in his right arm and aimed the rifle at his head, directly into the left ear canal, pulling the metal trigger and committing suicide right then and there with a loud, ear shattering bang, more of his blood splashing upwards to strike Shinn and Kira on their fronts and faces while they stood there in awe.

"D... damn..." Shinn closed his eyes as tears flowed from their ducts, rising from the corpse.

"Rein... reinforcements are already on their way..." Kira did the same. With the ORB sun setting in the distant horizon, the two of them looked down at the spy as his red blood leaked from the wounds and flowed towards the edge of the cliff, dripping down from it towards the ground below, staining his fallen, cracked and broken glasses lens in the process...

* * *

One and a half hours after midnight, Seiran Estate:

The situation had settled over the last few hours, and from what it seemed, the ORB Military was setting up a station inside the mansion itself. Despite the best efforts to take care of the spy, the damage had been dealt, although it could have been much, _much _worse. In a split second before the bullets were fired, Lord Yanata Ema Seiran had forced Cagalli aside and used himself as a shield, so as to prevent the young Princess from suffering an untimely demise so early on in her life. Several bullets pierced the back of the father Seiran, and one of them did manage to strike his spinal cord, severing it, and paralyzing him from the waist down. However, before too long the military called in a top of the line ambulance, meant to quickly travel to a location and either treat serious injuries or prevent the person who had suffered them from dying before they could be treated. However, bullets are bullets, and they are meant to kill, and poor Yanata Ema passed away just as the ambulance itself arrived on the scene. Before he left this world though, managed to have a brief, emotional talk with Cagalli, to attempt to explain himself, so that he could leave this world with a clear conscious.

As for the Princess herself, she cried. Despite how she had treated the old man before the attempted assassination attempt, she could not help but release her own tears, and even through he sacrificed himself for her sake, the fall had given her a nasty, bleeding bump on the head, and she was forced to wear a protective wrap for the time being. She was alive though, and a wound like that would heal in time, the doctor's said.

After hearing the news of the Princess' survival, Kira and Shinn took it upon themselves to find the bottom of this assassination; to figure out just who this man was, and what he was doing. Even though he killed himself, the man had forgotten one critical thing: His wallet, ID, as well as several other members of the ORB Military, who were able to identify him easily, although they were shocked that he would betray them in the end. Afterwords, with a great fury and drive behind the two of them, Kira and Shinn tracked down the man's home, as well as his station in the Military barracks, and searched for over an hour in those locations, eventually finding a complex and expensive military laptop and several USB Drives scattered throughout his home. Following that, the two set sail back to the Seiran Estate, where the ongoing search for hints of Logos' activity was still at a high, with hopes that there could be something beneath the cracks of it all.

Finally, Stella, who was currently having a great time talking with Erica Simmons and learning about the nature of the four ORB-0x gundams back at Morganroate where they were being repaired, was informed of the events that had transpired in the evening. The young girl could not help but cry over what happened to Cagalli, even the mere thought of her dying like that made her weep for a considerable time. All things though, come to an end, and that includes the crying of an Extended. As it stood, she was currently making her way towards the Seiran Estate by an escort...

"This is going to be a long night..." Shinn complained as Kira found a good place to sit down and start working on the spy's computer: a desk and nearby chair. Tired bags found their way underneath a pair of red eyes, and before too long, he yawned.

"Chances are security will tighten up around here once this is fiasco is cleared up and nothing like it will happen again." Kira plugged in the computer's recharge cable. "That being said, I think I might have jinxed us..." He opened up it's cover and searched for the power button, pressing it in an instant once it was found.

"Hmm..." Shinn crossed his arms, sitting down on a couch near Kira, watching as the Ultimate Coordinator stared at the monitor's illuminated screen, looking around here and there. Reaching for a bag they had brought with themselves and pulling out some USBs from it. "You know... Kira..."

"Yah?" The brunette faced him while individually plugging in each memory drive.

"It's just... what you did today... with that man... that was so... not you... not something I would-"

"He tried to kill Cagalli." Kira turned back towards the screen and began to type away at it. "He tried to end her life, and I was not going to let him get away with it, and that's the end of it..." He put on a neutral expression as Shinn shut his mouth and looked down, a tad depressed, and remembering some words from the past, that had been spoken to him by Kira's twin:

"_****__**I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MY ONLY BROTHER AND FAMILY AND THEN GET AWAY WITH IT, PERIOD!" **__The Lioness ____roared __as loud as she could, Shinn cringing a bit at the sound of her voice considering how close it was."_

'Two sides of the same coin...?' Shinn entrenched himself in slow thoughts, a contrast to the speed of Kira's fingers as they taped and tipped the computer's keyboard with great haste and dexterity.

"You know..." Kira questioned from the computer while Shinn's eyes started to shut a little. "Hello?" Kira turned around to see Shinn, almost asleep, and clapped his hands. "Now is not the time to snooze." He ordered, snapping the Judicator's pilot back into full consciousness.

"Oh, um... sorry." Shinn blushed a little as Kira gave him a serious look.

"I was just wondering... when we quickly figured out how to deal with that man... I told you to flank him by taking off through the back door, but why did you reject the gun that was given to you, and ask for that handgun?"

"Ugh, it's simple, really." Shinn looked up, scratching the back of his neck with his right hand nails. "I can brag to and from Kingdom Come with my handgun skills... but if you ask me to use any other gun? Assault Rifle, Semi machine Gun, Sniper... yeah I couldn't hit the front side of a barn."

"I doubt you're that bad. At least aiming a mobile suit's rifle doesn't have much to do with aiming a conventional weapon."

"Not like it matters for me, at least, given my machine's arsenal. It's matter of learning to 'throw' death balls..." Shinn rolled his eyes.

"Hehe, true..." Kira gave off a slight chuckle, when a newcomer rounded the corner and found their way to the part of the house where the two of them were chatting.

"Hey, you guys..." The voice of a very tired Stella greeted the two gentlemen.  
"Stella!" They both turned and smiled as the girl walked over to where Kira was working on the computer.

"What are you doing?" She got a little too close and peered directly at the screen.

"I'm... hacking it, but I can't see when you're this close." Kira blushed a little, as did Stella. The blonde girl moved back a bit and Kira initiated his lightning fast typing once again, his hands a literal blur on the keyboard. "Damn, he's encrypted most of the actual important stuff, but it's all on these drives..."

"Well, you type... really, really fast. And I bet with your computer skills... you should be able to crack this nut open in no time." Stella gave an innocent smile.

"Thank you, Stella." Kira nodded. "He may have made it difficult, but from what I can tell, it's not a matter of if as much as it is when. A program like this, without something behind it that is willingly opposing me, cannot stand forever." Kira explained, those words bouncing directly into Shinn's ear and being well received. All the while Stella sat down near him... right near him, as if she felt a certain comfort when near the other pilot. Kira was sure to notice this in the corner of his eyes as the blonde girl almost leaned on him. 'Stella...' He looked back to the screen. Although he spent several more minutes fixed upon codes and cracking them, he was instantly aware of a new presence, as the reflection of a certain Lioness, the last member of their group, suddenly appeared on his monitor. "Cagalli?" He turned and looked at his beloved sibling. She was still wearing her uniform, or rather, a replacement, seeing as the original had been soaked in the blood of ORB's Prime Minister. A white bandage made it's way around her head, and in some places, it was indeed, a bit pink. She wore the face of a women entering a stage of stifling melancholy, but beyond that and the problems that had already been listed, Cagalli was still... Cagalli.

"Are you alright? That looks bad." Shinn commented.

"It's not as bad now. I felt the bleeding stop, but the doctor wants me to wear this overnight, just in case." Cagalli stepped over to Kira. "So, how's it going?" She questioned, looking on the screen and noticing a loading bar.

"I'm working at it. Won't be long now." Kira yawned, staring her in the eyes. "I want to know something, Cagalli... and, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... but... you were talking Lord Yanata before he passed... and from what I saw... you were nodding, and crying... what did he tell you? It wasn't long before that where you said 'You're lucky I think it's a crime to hurt one's elders'... I mean..." The blonde huffed over him, attracting the full attention both Shinn and Stella while Cagalli slumped down onto a fluffy armchair that was nearby.

"And it wasn't long ago that neither I, nor the late Lord, were at risk of death, or worse." She touched her right first finger to it's thumb.

"Well... I didn't like him either, but Kira... you didn't grow up with Yanata Ema playing a role in your life besides knowing that he was royalty and a high ranking politician." Shinn added.

"Exactly." Cagalli added. "But if you must know, I'll indulge you." She spoke in a grim voice.

"No, if you don't want to..." Kira raised his hands up in defense.

"No, it's for the best that you all understand... why ORB has went the way it did." Cagalli retorted, taking a deep breath and focusing herself as she recalled back her memories, being enveloped in their emotions. "Lord Yanata Ema Seiran... told me... that he did all those things because he thought it was the right thing to do..." She began to explain, and in the meantime Shinn seemed to move up a little bit more to the edge of his seat, fixing on her... giving way to her words. "He told me, that in this day and age, a nation like ORB cannot stand by ideally while other factions, fueled by their hatred and sense of egotistical justice, tear the Earth apart, limb from limb..."

"But the Earth doesn't have limbs..." Stella commented in a young, honest voice.

"Stella... it's a metaphor..." Shinn turned to her for a second. Cagalli nodded.

"He told me that signing that treaty was for the greater good, for joining the side that he thought we had better relations with, and should chance come that the fires of war break out, that we would be on the winning side with. He said that if you looked for evidence of Logos' plans, you would find it all around this house, for he was a member of Logos, but a different type of Logos then what Durandal hopes to eradicate. He joined ORB because he sought protection for ORB, so that it would not burn before his very eyes, and so that the mistakes that were made in the first war, by my father's hands, would not be repeated again." Cagalli explained and Kira crossed his arms.

"So his apologetic were based on the premise of taking action then. Be prepared before conflict arises then?" Kira questioned.

"You could put it that way... yes, brother. From a purely consequential standpoint, I think I actually agree with him." Cagalli nodded.

"Ah, still doesn't justify some of the things he did..." Shinn let out a low growl.

"Indeed it does not. Another thing he told me was that the things he did back at home were for the sake of appeasing Logos and keeping them under the radar of suspicion, although I think my own actions defeated any efforts on his part to do so." Cagalli stated, standing up as she noticed Kira go back to typing away at the computer. "Any..."

"...luck? Yes... here we go... everything we could possibly be after." Kira leaned back in the chair. "His name was Ethan Rulski, and he's been a member of the ORB Military since Cosmic Era 67, and a citizen since sixty four..."

"A member of the military for that long? Then why would he..." Shinn raised an eyebrow in confusion and stood up, leaning over the computer from Kira's left side. Stella did the same soon after.

"Hold on..." Kira took a breath. "But from what I gather, this whole time, he's been an agent of the PLANTs, assigned to spy on internal militaristic affairs from within. That's a long time ago... he was assigned this role all the way back when Siegel Clyne was still Chairman, and way before Patrick Zala took over..."

"Or even when the First War was about to break out..." Cagalli added, scanning the page. The Princess aggressively took the mouse from Kira. "So he's been working from Chairman to Chairman, and they've all kept him going this whole time... well, I bet maybe some, like Eileen Canaver, _may, _have had something against it. Let's check these orders... they are few and far between, from the dates but... by Haumae... I thought so!"

"What?" Stella questioned.

"This is the man responsible for leaking information about the original five gundams back to Zaft!"

"The Duel, Buster, Blitz, Aegis, and Strike?" Stella recalled them all in a heart beat.

"Yes! If he was figured out... chances are the Heliopolis incident..."

"May have never happened... even in the first place..." Kira lowered his head, when suddenly all the memories of that terrible day, and his first days piloting the Strike, and his early battles, flashed through his mind. Clashing against the Le Creuset team... his first time activating his SEED, Artemis, and eve that little girl who was 'killed' by Yzak Joule during the atmospheric re-entry. Following that, he remembered his friends, and even Cagalli, and the years he's spent, recognized as royalty in ORB, with his own dedicated purpose. "Well, at least he's finally been dealt with... by his own hand." Kira grumbled.

"Kira..." The twins stared into each other. "Can I have the computer now? I want to look over all of these... please..." She requested, her voice completely honest in it's intentions.

"Sure, if I can have one thing." Kira answered with a slight frown. "Stella, may I have a word with you? Just around the corner? It'll only take a second." Kira asked, and the younger blonde looked at Cagalli for a second, then to Shinn, and then to Kira. None of them said anything, and so she answered.

"Umm... sure..."

"There you go..." Kira stated while stepping up and Cagalli took his place.

"I think we've got Zaft by the balls with this one, don't we?" Shinn leaned on the armrest of the couch with a smirk, and crossed his arms.

"Oh, you can say that again." Cagalli laughed in an almost regretful way, like when you realize something, but it is something you neither want to use, or wish never existed. "Well, who's to say my father didn't have his own respective agents?" She stared him in the face, and he made an 'oh' look. "But... if they're going to slander me for 'defending' Djibril, I'll slander them back! Although Durandal's one hell of a talker, and Djibril might very well take advantage of the situation... decisions... decisions..." Cagalli stated, scanning the list of all orders coming into Rulski, and all information that left him, and went back to the current Supreme Council Chairman at the time.

* * *

"So... what is it, Kira?" Stella questioned humbly as the Ultimate Coordinator leaned against one side of the wall and sighed.

"Stella, how have... how have you been feeling?" Kira questioned, looking her in the eye.

"Fine... so much better, after Shinn got the Zaft doctors to finally um... well 'fix' me, so to speak." Stella admitted. Kira silently nodded in return.

"I see, so, how have things been since that day, when we lost you? Was Zaft giving you trouble while you were on the Minerva?"

"Well... there was the one time I said I didn't like the uniform that much, and I got some 'looks', but after that, some of the engineers even took a liking to me, although I think that'll be a wound to be healed in time after I broke out of the ship with the Gaia." She giggled, and Kira stood up straight on his two feet again. "Well, Shinn did make sure I was safe... he promised me that nothing would happen. He's kept that promise up until now, you know?"

"I guess that's good then." He looked back, and seemed to approach her a little. Perhaps getting a little too close, as he noticed her body tense up, even a tad. "Alright... Stella... ugh..." Kira turned away and sighed. "Damn..." He whispered to himself, struggling to make words, but finding himself completely incapable.

"Kira? What's wrong?" Stella inquired with deep, but ignorant concern, moving closer to get a look at his face.

"Stella... it's just..." He turned back towards her. "I don't think... no... How can I... no... Just!" He made a frustrated, shaking movement with his hands. "What do you think of Shinn right now?"

"Oh... well... Shinn... he's... he's really great!" Stella giggled in her usual, innocent fashion. "He's done so much for me ever since... well ever since I fainted in front of that Destroy, and woke up on the Minerva. I missed you guys... a lot... and I missed you two, Kira... but Shinn made up for it, in some ways." She explained, and he turned back towards her, if only for a second, and then looked off into the distance towards the computer to check on his sister, and the male in question, in case they were watching. Right now, their attention spans were locked onto the monitor and they seemed to either be 'joyously agreeing' with each other in a loud manner, or viciously arguing. When it came to Shinn and Cagalli, Kira couldn't differentiate, at least not from this distance. "Uh, Kira?"

"I understand, Stella. If that's how you feel, then I understand." Kira responded while looking away, however, light reflected and shone off of his left side, from a lone tear that slid down his face on the right side and seemed to get caught in the scar on his face. "I guess things will be different from now on." He breathed some air into his nose, and began to walk back away, when suddenly he felt the girl grab his left and pull. Despite her size the girl was strong... strong enough that an unprepared Kira, with his guard down, was forced back a bit and into the hallway.

"Hey!" She looked him right in the eyes and pouted, wiping the tear from his scar with her left hand. "If Kira's sad... then I want to make him... 'not sad'." She cracked a slight smile.

"I know, Stella, but it's got more to do with you, then me, right now." Kira answered, leaning back a bit. "Stella, you remember... our time... when I watched you in the Archangel's sick bay? Remember... what we... revealed to each other that day?" He tilted his head in a friendly, emotional manner.

"Oh..." She gasped, placing her right hand next to her lower lip. "I'm... I'm... Kira... I forgot... I'm... I'm... so sorry..." The girl seemed to collapse down to one knee as those thoughts of admitted love entered her mind, and Kira followed, bringing himself down too.

"Stella... listen to me?" He gently grabbed the sides of her head and raised it up to lock sights with her. "I'm okay, but I wanted to know how you feel, alright? That's because... I still do have feelings for you... but if you don't have the same feelings for me, or if they aren't as intense as they were before, then... it's fine with me. I can handle it... I've handled so much worse." He finally cracked his own smile in her direction.

"Are you sure?"

"If Shinn's treated you this way... if done things for you which I could never do, or would never have to do, but he did anyway, then I can emphasize with your feelings. It's alright... besides, we're both young." Kira explained as Stella quickly pounced and gave him a light hug, which wasn't too intense, but was still warm and fuzzy. However, this was the kind of warm and fuzzy that came from a friendly relationship, not so much a romantic one.

"Okay then..." She broke away. "What now?"

"Now we go see those other two before they think about hurting one another..." Kira joked with added seriousness, causing the Extended to chuckle a little. "Alright?" She nodded, and the two got up and headed back.

"So basically..." Cagalli was mumbling to herself as she read the document.  
"Speak up!" Shinn rudely requested.

"NEAH!" Cagalli barked back in his direction.

"Pfft." Shinn rolled his eyes.

"Hey guy's, what have you found?" Kira asked as he approached the computer and Stella did the same.

"Umm... we've something... very, very interesting." Cagalli warned, scrolling down the page. "Look at this... and be sure to check the times and dates." She commanded as Kira read the contents.

"It's... orders to 'Try to get a handle on ORB's current leader. Work towards it.'... and then..." Kira looked below. "It says not to inflict any harm upon... you or I? WHAT?" Kira raised an eyebrow in complete confusion. "And yet they tried to kill you!"

"TIMES AND DATES!" Cagalli raged, circling around the areas of the documents where that information was revealed. "This one came in earlier, a couple weeks ago, from the looks of it. But the one that orders no harm done to me... it came in today, after the battle. In fact..." Cagalli pondered to herself. "When I had those troops mobilized to storm this place, that's when it came in... Ethan Rulski never laid eyes upon these orders." A shocked Cagalli stated.

"Which means he didn't receive the order in time to make adjustments for it... but why would Durandal suddenly modify those orders in the first place?"

"Kira, the old orders are about 'ORB's current leader'. At that time, Yanata Seiran was in charge, and the whereabouts of either you or Cagalli were unknown. So once she revealed herself yet again, he decided to call off his 'hit' if you could say it like that. But even then... why? And why make mention of both of you, and not just Cagalli?"

"Well damn... that's troublesome... what's so special about us? Why would Durandal specifically state that we are not to be harmed? We know about the Destiny Plan but I've never heard of anything about the two of us!"

"Well... there is one more thing I have to say. Actually, it's two things..." Cagalli turned around in the chair. "Yanata told me one more thing: When Djibril left, he managed to take some of the SEED mode data we've collected over the past two years with him." She spoke objectively.

"NO!" Kira backed away in shock.

"The SEED mode data?" Shinn asked.

"Yeah, HIGHLY, HIGHLY CLASSIFIED information! Very, very few have access to it... and now he does... shit!" Cagalli grit her teeth and slammed her left fist down with a loud thud.

"Well we can't do anything about this now until we go back to space and hunt him down, right?" Kira asked.

"That leads me into my next point, Kira. Durandal's needs us for something... or whatever it is he's planning... and his brother warned us about the Mendel Colony remember? Oscar Durandal told us there was more information there to be discovered? I believe we may find our reasons... there... before it is somehow too late."

"I agree." Kira nodded with a slightly ticked expression. "So when do we leave, then?"

"I have to handle a bucket load of things in the government first, but once my _new _personal ship is repaired, we're taking off, and that's a promise."

"Wait, new personal ship?" Shinn questioned.

"I think Cagalli's referring to..." Stella added.

"Yeah, the Minerva..." ORB's Lioness proudly shook her head. (A/N: I knew you guys would see that last bit coming a country mile away... and if you didn't, well, what are you smoking? Still, I felt like adding it in.)

* * *

Thirteen hundred hours _Washington D.C. _Time, _Daedalus Lunar Base_:

Somewhere inside the massive military complex was a large office, like the one belonging to the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman but not as big and lacking the massive video displays. However, sitting in the desk of this office, smoking a cigar, was Lord Djibril, looking into his computer's monitor. On that computer's monitor was the President of the Atlantic Federation.

"So you'll be sure to increase the rate at which the supply ships are bringing the necessary materials to Daedalus? Well, if that's going to happen, then obviously you'll need to increase the security around them. Zaft is already causing those ship's trouble, but luckily are the critical components have made their way into my hands." Djibril explained.

"Yes, yes. Of course. Now that Chairman Durandal 'knows' you're in space, Zaft won't be harassing us down below for much longer." The President spoke.

"Without a doubt." Djibril took a puff from his cigar and then flicked the ashes into a tray. "Although I must say, you were quite lucky with the way the election went. A narrow victory, to say the least."

"Aye..." The President began perspiring from his forehead. "Given the way the Atlantic Federation' Constitution works, if I had lost, well then my opponent would need to wait only a few hours before taking my place..."

"... and smooching up to our favorite Chairman? Yes, yes, I know full well about the critically of that past situation." Djibril nodded. "Although, I think your victory may have been in part to how the original Destroy was... well destroyed. A positron cannon? There aren't too many of those around the Earth Sphere, and considering how much destruction that little Extended... ugh... Auel I think his name was, left in his way... it could certainly strike fear into the masses and 'convince' them of who to vote for. After all, people are slaves to their fears. It doesn't matter how much they boast about being intelligent, ambitious, courageous, or loyal... all of those things fall before the darkness of fear, one way or another." Djibril commented. Paladin then quickly jumped on top of the desk from it's front side. "You! Don't block the screen!" Djibril ordered the black furred animal.

"All true, all... true. Still, something bothers me."

"And what's that?" Djibril questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"The Chief Representative of the ORB Union..." The President began as Djibril stuck his hand out.

"Stop! Before you go on about how you're worried about her and how she 'burned' the treaty you signed with her, consider this: The ability to block that broadcast from reaching the ORB Forces at Copernicus. Yeah, you heard that right... that cities... all Lunar Cities media transmissions are coming here first and being 'checked over'. Those men know nothing about her actions and even then, I have a certain Prince by my side for the sake of rallying them to my cause..." Djibril smirked, sitting up straight and leaning forward. "Besides, it'll all be over in a matter of days. We have the ability to strike with the fury of a thousand blazing suns, and the ability to banish them from the shadows, alright?" He smirked.

"Uh, yes sir." The President answered.

"Good. Now, anything else?"

* * *

Location: Attha Mansion, ORB Union

Time: Eleven Hundred Hours

Date: January 30th, Cosmic Era 74.

Around two weeks had passed ever since the end of Operation Justice, and the subsequent assassination attempt upon Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Attha. During this time, repairs had been put into full swing across the entire island nation. From it's military, residential sectors, and everything in between. Following the death of Yanata Ema Seiran, some of the information regarding his death had been released and sent out into the public. In Earth Alliance-controlled nation-states, the results were outrageous, and a great amount of hate, directed at the PLANTs, was born. On the flip side, the people of the PLANTs were a bit more skeptical regarding the situation, and did not interpret Ethan Rulski's orders to be a direct assassination attempt, rather something he took upon himself. Whether this is due to the disputed 'higher intelligence level' of coordinators, or simply do to the current trend of patriotism in the PLANTs that has been geared towards following their Chairman.

In the meantime, ORB's Princess, with the help of her brother, Shinn Asuka, and Stella Loussier, had took it upon herself to correct the mistakes made by the Seiran family by any means necessary, and as it stood, ORB was returning to normal. However, one problem still remained, and that was the problem of agony, as the four pilots would figure out as they left the Mansion and prepared to head towards the nation's military docks...

"Come on! You're stuff is already on the ship! I don't even know why I gave you a room here for crying out loud!" Cagalli, who was wearing her ORB Military Uniform ordered from the bottom of her grand stair case, both her brother and the Extended by her side. While she kept her usual Commander and Chief attire, the ones Kira and Stella wore had changed. Kira, who before held the rank of Lieutenant Commander, was now a full-fledged Commander, and was the one assigned to lead the Minerva's mobile suits into battle and guide them, as the title suggests. Stella, who had practically glued herself to both the ORB-0x gundams and Erica Simmons during this break, was now not only a pilot, but an Ensign in her own right. When she could, she would aid in the maintenance, repair, and resupply of the ORB Mobile Suits after a battle, provided she had the energy. However, there was one last member of their group, and this was the first time he would be wearing his suit. Being used to the usual Zaft Red Uniform, this one was a little different to put on. He also wanted to make sure that everything was put on and zipped up properly, because there was a likely chance that Cagalli would have an absolute canary if he wore it with the same lazy attitude that he did with his Zaft one. Granted, in time he would probably let his suit 'loosen up', after she stopped looking.

"FINE! FINE! FINE! Damn, I'm coming!" Shinn Asuka huffed and puffed as he quickly appeared from up around the corner and looked down from the staircase. He, like Stella, was only an Ensign, but at the same time, all Cagalli, or even Kira could do was emit light smiles as they looked at him for the first time.

"You look better, I think." Cagalli commented.

"I think I liked the old shade of red more. Matches my style, and my machine." Shinn replied, walking down the steps.

"Oh please, as if. At least you don't have that chocking collar anymore."

"Like I ever did it up except for special occasions."

"Which should be always..." Cagalli spoke as he stepped both feet on the ground. "Whatever, it's time. Enough bickering." She finished. Right then and there, Kira seemed to let off a huge sigh of relief.

"Alright, time to go! To the ship!" Stella stuck up her right hand and walked towards the grand entrance way door, when suddenly she heard something from the outside. "Ugh... what's that?" She opened the door, only to have her eyes widen. "Guys..."

"Hang on, what's going on here?" Kira questioned and went up to her, looked out the door, turned around, and then faced Cagalli. "You got to see this. Now."

"Why what is it?" Cagalli moved up too, and as she approached the door, the 'sound of anger' seemed to intensify from the other side, until she reached it, and looked outside. "An angry mob headed right this way? NOW OF ALL TIMES!?"

"Ugh, I think we should call for..." Kira suggested as his sister burst out of the door and looked towards the path that led to the Attha Estate's main gate, and behind that gate, was indeed, a crowd of pissed off civilians.

"I don't care what's this all about, I'm going to go out there and deal with it right now before they break through and lay siege to my house for Pete's sake!" She began to run forward.

"Cag..." Kira mumbled as Shinn charged through and did the same, and then Stella, and then finally, the Ultimate Coordinator followed along.

"HEY! HEY! What the hell is going on here, what's the meaning of this!" Cagalli yelled at the top of her lungs as she bravely approached the gate and stopped to speak. In response, the only thing she could hear in return was a barrage of overlapping, unrecognizable yelling from the people on the other side. There had to be at least three hundred of them, if not more in the distance. "SHUT UP!" She yelled forwards as the other three approached behind her, and Kira seemed to narrow his eyes as if he was prepared to go at it should anything funny happen, while Stella's eyes bounced from place to place, looking for anything suspicious.

"WE WANT AN EXPLANATION FOR ALL OF THIS!"

"AND WHY ARE YOU HIDING BEHIND THAT GATE!"

"OPEN IT SO WE CAN FREELY SPEAK TO YOU OR WE WON'T TALK!"

"Of for..." The Lioness groaned and walked towards the controls of the gate and bravely pressed a few keys. The gate opened seconds later and while a few of the angry citizens on the other side were content to rush forward quickly none of them made it too far ahead before stopping in front of their Princess. After all, they were hear for answers and explanations more than anything, and she knew that an act like this would not be unnoticed by the staff of her house, and that soldiers were probably rushing here right now in case anything went downhill. In fact, she could even hear the high rpm of a military helicopter's rotor blade in the distance. "So what do you want?"

"We want..."  
"We want you to justify what's happened to our lives!"

"Of course..." Cagalli put her mouth near her right shoulder and whispered.

"I mean... look at my house!" A mother of about thirty-five rushed forward and pulled out a large piece of paper. "LOOK AT IT!" She pointed the paper, which was actually a large photo, directly into the Princess' face. "You see... that!" She pointed to what appeared to be the decapitated head of a ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior that had landed directly into her yard, it's dead, beaten mono-eye staring right back at Cagalli through the picture.

"Oh my..." Cagalli stepped back a bit in shock, however it wasn't too long before a couple of large helicopter's began to fly over the mansion from above Cagalli and the others. The helicopters then moved back towards the entrance of the mansion and landed. Many soldiers then began to pour out of the aircraft and hustle towards their Commander and Chief. "Stop, that's enough for now." Cagalli addressed the soldiers, who stopped themselves in their tracks with weapons drawn, but carefully lowered.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We heard of a large crowd moving through the city a couple minutes ago and immediately scrambled."

"And we didn't hear about it until now? Geez..." Shinn snarked as one of the other people at the front of the crowd moved forward. He was male, about twenty five. From the looks of it, he was an honor's student, but he didn't look too preppy right now. Rather, his bodily expression seemed to be more beaten then anything.

"To not attack another nation, to not allow another nation to attack us, and to not intervene in the conflicts of other nations. Lady Cagalli Yula Attha, yes, you have done what you can to severe ties between ORB and the Earth Alliance, but news around these chains of islands are quick to spread! What are you doing heading back into space at this point in time?" The man questioned as Cagalli sighed. Before she could even talk again, the crowd seemed to burst into anger again, and although the soldiers did not raise their firearms, they did switch to poses that were more combat ready.

"I am heading into space... for the sake of solving some issues that I personally am facing, and so that I may be in a position to end this war should it escalate. I may be your Chief Representative, but I am also the Commander and Chief of the ORB Forces, as well as a well-versed pilot in my own right. Now, is that all you're here for?" Cagalli spoke up again to the front of the crowd, however, her voice could not carry towards the rear of it, and it didn't take long for the mob to start raging once more.

"WHAT? But ORB's ideals! Djibril has left our nation and this war is now between both the Earth Alliance and Zaft, not us! We should cease focus on the military and refocus our efforts back down here! Who else is as frustrated as I am when it comes to how long it's going to take for the damaged areas to be cleaned up, and to be rebuilt! The government, that's you, Princess, should be trying to fix that, not fighting an unethical war that goes against everything this nation stands for!" Another of the civilians yelled, and many of them cheered in applause. Cagalli could only give off a light growl, and the rest of the other pilots were at a lose for words.

"These people..." Shinn mumbled.

"From the looks of it, these were the ones who lived in the most damaged areas... it makes sense, if you think about it. While there were barely any actual casualties... many of them lost it all." Kira whispered to the younger male.

"Almost no casualties?" Shinn narrowed his gaze with a hint of anger. "And they're complaining like this?" His right fist suddenly clenched as the mob continued to bombard Cagalli with questions.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Why did my house have to be destroyed by a stray shot and why did all the belongings I had in their, collected over the years have to burn?"

"YEAH! WHAT HE SAID!"

"YEAH!" The crowd roared in respect to the rules of a mob mentality. All the while Cagalli walked over to one of the soldiers who was holding a megaphone, and took it from him.

"Hopefully they'll listen..." She muttered, amping up the volume so that it would hopefully reach everyone in the crowd. "YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN!" She roared and her voice was amplified to great levels, rushing over top of the mob like an ocean wave. "Please... I know these are hard times for everyone, but I think that because the way this war has been leading the world, we should be open to the ideas of change, even if that means abandoning past ideals, ORB's ideals, if only for the remainder of this conflict." She spoke, when another loud mouth barked from somewhere behind the front lines.

"What? We must always obey or ideals no never obey them! To do anything other to is be a complete hypocrite!" The voice soared as it's owner pushed and shoved his way through the crowd. He was an almost seven foot tall ginger and he wasn't the kind to slack around either. In a matter of seconds he had burst through the front of the crowd and appeared in front of Cagalli, the other pilots, and the soldiers. Once again, the Princess raised her arm to signal the soldiers to not do anything aggressive. "Our ideals are sacred and meaningful! Your father clung to them because he knew what he was doing. In the end it was actions that betrayed those ideas which lead to the construction of the five mobile suits at Heliopolis, and it's subsequent destruction! For you to spit on them like that... girl..." He lunged forward a bit. "HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF THE PRINCESS AND CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE! THE LEADER OF THE ATTHAS? HOW COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?" He yelled from just a couple feet away, and even the strong Cagalli's eyes went wide open from just the sheer intimidation and guilt factors. "WELL?" He stepped a few feet forward and many of the soldiers reached for their safety switches. However, Cagalli wasn't going to let anyone die today, even someone like him.

"Do not shoot, under any circumstance! And Kira, you stay back too! I mean it!" Cagalli ordered in a stern tone as she stared down the brute.

"Well, how can you? HOW CAN YOU? I guess maybe I'll have to beat it into..." The man started to blitz forward at the Princess, and even though she felt like standing her ground, this guy was tough and could deal some serious damage to her, and she knew it. However, as he closed the gap between them to only a couple feet, the unexpected took place.

"Don't you even try! You leave Cagalli alone and don't you even dare hurt her!" An enraged, furious Stella Loussier charged forward in front of the angry man and leaned down right in front of his path as he ran forward. Quickly, the man attempted to jump over the Extended, but she would have none of that. She began to demonstrate her skills as a person meant to be a living weapon, and put her arms into the air, clashing against him and using his own weight as a tool to hurdle him over her body in an instant and send him flying in the air, out of control, before landing on grass outside of the path and knocking himself unconscious. As the entire mob, and even the soldiers and other pilots awed the Extended in response, all she did was rub her palms together in success.

"Stella..." Cagalli said with a shocked and utterly surprised look on her face.

"Now you can speak!" She smiled, walking behind the Princess. The mob however, was not too happy as whispers of what had just transpired spread throughout it.

"Alright..." Cagalli was about to place the megaphone next to her mouth, when Shinn walked up near her and placed his hand on her forearm and looked her in the eyes. "What?" She queered.

"Can I have it... just for a second? Can I say a word, as a man who lost everything, only to find his way afterwords?" Shinn requested. For a second, Cagalli was a bit skeptical, and didn't like the idea, but as the two of them stared at each other, she eventually loosened her hold on the device.

"Fine." She gave in. Shinn took the megaphone and then raised it so he could speak loudly. "Don't make me regret this."

"Hey! HEY! HEY! Over here!" Shinn shouted, his voice full of aggression, quickly stealing the attention of all the angry citizens and silencing them. "Look at you all... here... like this, for no good reason at all!" He barked, and the crowd seemed to swear uniformly in his direction. "NO, really! Listen to yourself! Look at yourself and see what it is that you're doing!" Shinn shouted again, and the crowd seemed to die down a little. "Thank you. Now, I know that times has been tough recently for everyone, not just here, but everywhere, but that doesn't mean we should be enslaved and enraged by the past like this, especially considering what was lost. I know that many of you have had your homes destroyed, and your prized accomplishments... pictures... and prized treasures lost, forever.

However, you still have each other, and you still have your families... and friends. They're still around... they didn't perish in the battle, or at least, not many did. I know some people may reject what I'm about to say... but... not all is lost, you're still alive, and you can live your life still. You make new memories to take the places of the old ones, and you can... replant the seeds of your own happiness. That is, if you chose to do so... all of you... as strong citizens of ORB, are fully capable of doing so. I know this, because I am one of you, and I have felt hardship and suffering beyond what you have felt... and yet I came back from it, to pave my path and forge my future. Do the same." Shinn warned, sealing his lips right afterword and letting the hand he was holding the megaphone in angle downwards to the ground. For the most part, people were silent, but after a while, some of them began to roar again, but many others started to chat amongst themselves, not of hatred, but of thankfulness. Thankfulness, for their own potential. "Here... Chief Representative Attha." Shinn handed the megaphone to Cagalli, and she silently took it, her very expression thanking him. She knew that while not everyone would listen, more of them would.

"You want explanations, do you not?" Cagalli asked as her voice rushed threw the mob of people, echoing back in the distance as the people suddenly became quiet in the face of their leader. "Well, here is your explanation, for why I cannot abide by ORB's ideals. My father was a great man, but like any other human being, he had his flaws. He executed actions in accordance to his own intelligence and sense of morality, as we all do, and even as the late Lord Yanata Ema Seiran did, despite how much we may look down on his works. However, we are at a stage in time where we cannot simply plug our ears to the rest of the world, and it's a simple as that. Chairman Durandal, for all he's worth, wants to bring an end to all war. However, he is trying to achieve this goal by means of force, and there is a certain bitter irony to that, don't you think? A world without war is a world where all nations, and all people are at peace. However, to be at peace, they must be agreement with each other. Does peace itself not only refer to a situation lacking conflict, but a state of understanding?

Of hearing each and everyone out, and listening to their ideas, but not allowing our differences, whether it be genetic, or ideological in their nature, turn us into fiends of hatred? Well, in a world with complete peace, everyone would have a say, would they not? They would be allowed to carry out their own ideals on themselves, right? Not in Durandal's world, where his ideal is the only true one, above all else. If we were to follow my father's mindset to an absolute tee, then we would be digging our own grave. That is why I am heading into space, and why ORB is still on the ready to take part in this war. It is so we can secure our place, our right to speak and have our voice be heard, whether it be verbally... or if it unfortunately comes to it, by bloodshed. Zaft has demonstrated, by their actions, that they are willing to throw others aside for the sake of achieving their goals, and forcing peace upon us all. However, you, my people, know me better than that. You know that I am not a women who just idly stands by to be walked on by others... and that is my justification for my actions as Chief Representative after returning to my nation. Thank you for listening... now please, return home, rest, and recover." Cagalli finished, lowering the megaphone as the mob, which was originally raging with the fury like none seen before, began to cheer, and clap for their Princess. Of course there would be some who remain dogmatic and ignore her, but on a whole, they listened. In response, all she could do was shed a tear in return and lower her head as she felt a hand on her left shoulder, and turned, to see her brother, Kira.

"You are marvelous, Cagalli... now, I think we're late for our bus. It's time to..." Kira began.

"... learn the truth? Yes, I can agree to that." She nodded in return and the two gave each other warm smiles before hugging tightly together, feeling each other's comfort, and feelings as they smiled. It was a happy moment, to say the least.

* * *

LHM-BB01 Minerva:

Although no major modifications had been made to the ship's design, she had been fully repaired since the last battle, and now bore the Crest of the ORB Union on the sides of her catapults, granted, they could not be seen right now, for Morganroate had managed to attach a modified version of the Archangel's space booster onto the sides of the ship, which, in conjunction with another move, would allow her to leave the Earth. Some changes had been made to the ship's roster though, as some of the crew, considering their predicament, chose to take the permanent, non-combatant asylum that Cagalli had granted them. The most notable of these crew members was the Chief Engineer, who had been replaced by Erica Simmons herself, insisting that she be on board to oversee the ORB-0x gundam's repair and maintenance. On the whole though, very little had changed, besides the ORB Unions that those who chose to stay on board the ship no wore. As Shinn, Stella, Kira and Cagalli entered the ship's upper bridge, and the light from the sun shone through it's series of forward windows, they were greeted by Captain Talia Gladys, wearing her new Captain's uniform and hat.

"Hey, Captain." Shinn spoke as he walked in first and leaned over the planning table.

"Shinn! You guys finally made it! I was worried, but I took the chance to restore something that had been brought down earlier." Talia stated as she stood up, the light reflecting off of a gold surface that had been mounted near her on the walls. It was the plaque originally given to the Minerva after the Break the World incident.

"I see... the bridge seems to be a bit brighter now that it has been restored. Thank you." Cagalli walked forward towards one of four seats that had been placed near the table, like what happened during the ship's battle with Girty Lue.

"You're welcome. However we are behind schedule. If you would all take a seat, then I'll prepare the ship for take off." Talia expressed.

"No problem." Kira sat down next to Cagalli, and then they all fell into their places while the Captain took her own seat.

"We're ready for take off, ma'am." Arthur Trine, who was silent until now, added.

"Physically, yes. However, I would like to take the liberty of addressing the crew beforehand." Talia stated, picking up her phone and pressing a few keys on it's control panel. "All hands, this is your Captain." Talia spoke, the intercom system spreading her words around every nook and cranny of the Minerva in a second. "It is an honor to speak to you today, the day of our new launch, of this ship's rebirth, in a sense. Each and everyone of you have chosen, by your own will, to stick together, and fight, for this cause, even after the accidents that have already occurred. I must thank you for that, however, I must also warn you. We may be fighting under a new banner, but I am still the same old Talia Gladys as before, and I still expect each and everyone of you to fight with your hearts and mind in turn, for that, is to fight at one's best. Now, without further wait..." She turned to Arthur. "Activate the Tannhauser! Engines to maximum, the Minerva is taking off!" She ordered, and the Executive Officer saluted her firmly in return.

"Yes, Captain! Activating Tannhauser! Transferring firing axis controls."

"Initiating engines. Preparing to deploy main wings once we leave the docking bay!" Malik added as the ship's numerous large nuclear pulse thrusters began to fire up and push the vessel forward.

"And... here we go!" Abbey Windsor cheered.

"Yup! The positronic interference trick! Exciting!" Stella followed suit as the ship left the bay and push on forward, eventually tilting upwards and firing it's booster. The vessel's bow hatch then opened up and Tannhauser pushed itself forward and out, charging up with great power as Malik pushed the ship to it's limits.

"Firing in five... four... three... two... one..." Arthur counted downwards.

"Tannhauser, fire!" Talia commanded as the vessel unleashed a fully charged blast from it's main gun, the ray of anti-matter rushing forward in a stream, into the sky, eventually 'exploding' high above them as strings of light cascaded down upon the Minerva while she took off into the great dark beyond that is space...


	14. Phase 43: Journey to Mendel

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Author's Note: If you like MSV, I think you might be happy with the next few chapters, this one included specifically.

All according to my LibreOffice...

Story Chapter Length: 17k

MS Spec Length: 1k

* * *

Anyway...

Location: Orbit around the Earth

Time: Twelve hundred and thirty hours

Data: January 30th, CE 74

As the Minerva exited the atmosphere and made it into space, the boosters on either side of her stern hull broke off and slowly began to fall backwards towards the Earth. The ship's fixed engines continued to pump out thrust and move the vessel forward away from the planet behind it though. Inside of her bridge, things weren't over yet.

"Transition to space flight complete, ma'am. We're all good." Malik informed.

"No air leakage detected ma'am. All stations report nominal conditions." Arthur added.

"Excellent." Captain Talia Gladys answered, floating from her chair and angling herself towards the back of the room. "Malik, take on on the pre-made course towards Lagrange Point 4 at cruising speed."

"Yes ma'am." The helmsman answer, gently tilting the drive controls of the ship to his right, the vessel responding in the form of a gentle starboard bank as her engines lowered their output by a tad.

"Okay then..." Talia landed at the back of the room in front of the digital map and began to press a few button. At the same time each of the gundam pilots had also followed her, but were standing on the other side. "Here we are right now, and this is our planned course" She explained, the screen lighting up to show a map of the Earth Sphere, including the planet itself, the Moon, each individual Lagrange Point, the debris belt, and of course, the ship and her route.

"Wait... hold on..." Shinn protested, pointing towards a point on the map. "It's says we're going to make our way through the debris belt at this speed? I thought we were always taught to avoid it!"

"We were, as Zaft soldiers..." Talia glared towards Cagalli, although in a neutral expression. "However, I think the Chief Representative may be able to explain why ORB does things a little differently."

"Huh?" Shinn looked towards the elder blonde, who smiled.

"Well, during the short two years of peace we had between the wars, what would you expect us to do? While Zaft and the Earth Alliance just patrolled their respective territories and routes, I had our fleet gather some data on the debris belt and how to make our way through it. How did you think the Archangel managed to find you guys so quickly after the battle with Girty Lue?" She questioned.

"Oh, I see. Huh." Shinn chuckled a little. "Well then, if that's the case, and we know what we're doing, full speed ahead as far as I'm concerned."

"Choo-choo!" Stella happily fist pumped the air.

"Yeah, right. Full speed ahead." Talia rolled her eyes.

"Not to mention that we'll probably encounter a few unexpected surprising along the way. After all, this is a time of war." Kira, who had been quiet up until now, stated.

"True, very true, Commander." Talia nodded. "On the bright side, with the way we're traveling, Mendel is rotating in our direction, so that's a boost. However, even with the accurate scans of the debris belt, we'll have to slow down and be careful, and thats where a large chunk of our time will be spent."

"Alright..." He shook his head, pleased with the answers he was given.

"Just don't go to sleep while we're making quick turns." Shinn said.

"Yeah..." Stella responded with glazed eyes.

"If that's it, then I'll be in my cabin for now." She tapped her foot and ascended over the heads of the four pilots. "Arthur, you have the bridge. Notify me if anything out of the ordinary occurs."

"Yes ma'am!" The Executive Officer acknowledged. Stella clasped her hands together.

"Well, this is my second time in space... I hope it'll be fun!" The Extended cheered.

"Yeah, hopefully..." Shinn could not help but smile. "Then let's work on your 'space legs' in the meantime!"

"Alright!" She cheered again.

* * *

The three hundred and fifty meter long gray and red vessel continued to make it's way away from the enormous blue and green chunk of rock known as the Earth. However, a faint, hard to see blur, was present in the area behind the vessel's port stern. Yes, it could not be seen unless someone was looking for it, but nevertheless, it was there...

"Captain, at this rate they're headed directly towards the debris belt." The radar operator of the Alliance vessel known as Girty Lue reported.

"Aye..." Captain Ian Lee groaned. "Well, I guess we'll have to do something about that beforehand."

"Sir?" The ship's helmsman questioned.

"Send a secure message to the Reagan. Inform them of the Minerva's current course. I'm sure Captain Giles, and Lord Djibril will be happy to know that our 'favorite' ship is on the move." Lee ordered.

"Aye, Captain." Girty Lue's communications officer answered.

"And what will we be doing for the time being, Captain?" The helmsman asked yet another important question.

"We'll be sure to keep track of her for now. There's adequate propellant in the tanks to do so. If worse comes to worse... well, the last set of orders I received from Lord Djibril did say that it was time for ORB to know of the benefits that the Alliance received after the Archangel was captured..." Lee explained. In the meantime, in Girty Lue's hanger, a full compliment of Windams were being checked on by the engineering crew. However, these Windams were different from the standard versions. Some of them held dark gray and black color schemes, while others were painted shades of red and pink. None of them had any shields or packs equipped though.

* * *

A few hours later, Minerva hanger bay:

Although it could only bother someone if they let the thought of it linger in their mind, the scents of mechanical oils, laser cutters, and welding torches permeated the entire chamber. While the Minerva itself had enough carrying capacity to hold eleven mobile suits, one of them was always the Impulse, so in terms of fixed frame models that did not come in separate modules, she could only hold ten. Still that was a high number for this time, exceeding the Archangel-class' eight and only being surpassed by the Girty Lue-class' twelve. Of the current mobile suits the Minerva was holding, the first four were, of course, the ORB-0x gundams. However, the later six were different. Because the Minerva was carrying not only the Princess of ORB, but the nation's most powerful suits, there had to be a fairly strong compliment of non-gundam models to assist the four. During the war, ORB had managed to design two new variants of the MVF-M11C Murasame, the MVF-M12A Ootsukigata and MVF-W44A Byakko. Piloted by, for the most part, some of ORB's stronger pilots who had distinguished themselves throughout the military, these machines would serve their purpose well.

The Ootsukigata was designed as a ranged machine, possessing a single High-energy Long-range Beam Cannon mounted on it's right shoulder and a dedicated cooling unit for that cannon. This model left behind the missiles that were originally mounted on the Murasame, but other than that, it still held the same weaponry as the original Murasame. Ootsukigatas, appearance wise, possessed the same color scheme as an ordinary Murasame, except the orange was now a light blue. In addition to this, it lacked the large wings of a normal Murasame, and held a head-sized sensor dish on it's left shoulder to compliment the cannon on it's right. Two of these units were stationed on the Minerva right now, piloted by Chikia, and Takito, who had done it several Zaft suits during Operation Fury.

The Byakko (White Tiger) on the other hand wasn't a ranged unit, but a Limited Production variant of ORB's variable form mass production model, based off of Andrew Waltfeld's MVF-M11C_AWC Tiger Murasame Custom. It retained the head and wing-mounted CIWS, and front skirt missiles of the original machine. However, unlike a standard Murasame, it was equipped with two Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifles, which would be stored on each side skirt, two beam fang generators, each stored on it's forearms, and another shield, stored on it's right arm behind the beam fangs. These two shields would combine together in Waverider mode. The Byakko held a pure snow white and pitch black color scheme, and four of them were stationed on the Minerva at this point in time. Piloting these machines were Lieutenant Baba, one of ORB's stronger, longer serving soldiers, as well as Ikeya, Yoshura, and Kalur, each of whom were part of the surviving remnants of the ORB Fleet that was meant to take Diocula back from Zaft.

"So let me get this straight: After having a nearly two week long field day with Chief Engineer Simmons, you now know _a lot _more about my own machine then I do?" Shinn questioned as he, and Stella floated though the hanger bay together, near the feet of the mobile suits in the front row. All of the gundams were not standing perfectly upwards like a normal hanger bay would have. Rather, they were kneeling forward a, allowing for greater space between the top of their heads and the roof.

"Yeah? You got a problem with that?" Stella turned and smiled at the raven haired pilot as the two passed between the Sovereign's bulky, deactivated lower legs at a leisurely pace.

"No, not really. I was helping out with some other, more important things."

"Heh, suuuuuurrrrre!" Stella gave a sly smirk, glaring at the boy next to her.

"Yeah yeah... well clearly if I was too busy to learn more about my own machine, why don't you tell me then, eh? We have time to kill now, right?" Shinn asked. The two pilots then set down in a nearly unoccupied area of the hanger bay, in the junction between their two machines.

"Okay then... but you asked for it!"

"Asked for what?" Shinn growled in slightly anger, and all Stella did was giggle manically.

"During the time you were 'helping out with some other, more important things', I assisted Mrs. Erica Simmons with the modifications to our machines."

"Modifications?"

"Well, since ORB got a hold of both the Impulse and the Gaia, we could go to town and back analyzing all your combat data. In fact, the Judicator was adjusted to be put more in line with your style, Shinn. Same thing happened to the Demoness."

"Oh really? Wow..." Shinn blushed a little in gratitude. "Well, what about Kira and Cagalli? Were modifications made to their machines?" He asked, turning back to look at the Sovereign and Veneficus gundams. Well, at least the base units of each machine.

"No, silly!" She swatted the air. "Those machines were designed from scratch using their combat data." She snapped. "Although, it was fun, looking at all your combat data. I heard about what happened at Heaven's Base but until I actually checked over the information I didn't realize how much you kicked ass out there!"

"Hmm..." A satisfied Shinn found himself only capable of smirking as he floated towards the bottom right foot of his machine, slowly colliding with the bottom layer of armor. "Well then, tell me more, if you want."

"Well..." The girl began to think to herself. "Have you ever wondered why your machine glows on the inside when it's on?"

"Kira's does the same, right? It's kinda of weird if you ask me, but I'm fine with it."

"Well the Judicator, when you get down to it, is a heavily modified, close range variant of the Veneficus." She drifted towards his location and look up place on a higher part of the foot when she reached it. "Do you remember back when we were still with Zaft, in Gibraltar, and I was talking with Vino and Yolan about Zaft's new gundams?"

"Which of the near-infinite, day and a half long conversations are you talking about? I never took record while I was 'watching' you!" Shinn crossed his arms.

"Bah!" Stella reached over and smacked him on the top of the head.

"Hey!" He complained, scratching his scalp. Stella simply stuck her tongue out.

"Do you remember when I talked about those suit's frame? How, instead of a standard mobile suit skeleton, used on any mass production model, they decided to use an armor dividing system, smaller components, and a sliding mechanism..."

"...That would grant the suits near-human like levels of articulation?" Shinn placed his right hand on his chin and pondered.

"Yeah!" Stella clapped.

"All of their machines have something along the lines of that, if I remember correctly." Shinn explained. 'Which would make them all the more harder to fell in the end...'

"Right!" She clapped again. "Well, that kind of technology is something Zaft has been slowly working on ever since the days of the Freedom and Justice. Since those units found themselves in ORB's hands at the end of the First War, you can guess where that technology went, right?" Stella questioned, while Shinn remained quiet, and simply pointed one right finger forward towards the Judicator's leg, specifically aiming for the section which would glow with a color much like molten lava or liquid steel when the suit's phase shift was activated. "Yeah..."

"So why don't Zaft suit's glow like that?"

"Because technology branches." Stella made a dividing motion with two clasped hands. "While the Zaft machine's are meant to achieve a higher range of motion, this machine has almost the same, if not the same movement because of the way it's limb's were designed. However, Morganroate wanted to do more with this technology..."

"And here comes the glowing part..."

"Hey!" She growled. "But yeah, here comes the glowing part. The sections that light up are constructed out of a material that is very similar to phase shift armor although a small bit weaker. It's modified so that when it's active, the reactions in the Judicator's frame quicken the limb movements, like grease, except not nearly as bad looking."

"Okay... thanks for explaining it in Layman's Terms, Stella. What about Kira's?" Shinn asked, folding his legs together, getting comfortable where he was, despite the fact that it was a machine's foot.

"The same thing, except the frame is calibrated in a different way, so that it can easily and quickly adjust how stiff it is for aiming purposes, hence why it's a different color."

"Okay then. Hey... wait a minute, where are Kira and Cagalli anyway? Earlier you told me that that they had something really important to do..." Shinn spoke while Stella simply jumped towards him and grabbed him by the arm, carelessly kicking off of the Judicator's foot and making way towards the back of the hanger bay.

"Fine... FINE... alright, Stella! You can't just go kicking off of objects like that in zero gravity! We're going to crash into something unless I..." Shinn locked his teeth together in frustration. He directed his body towards the floor of the hanger bay and planted his feet onto it's cold, metal surface, quickly slowing down the two of them and coming to a stop before Stella's hasty charge could land them smack dab into the wall. "... stop you..." He exhaled with a heavy puff of his lungs.

"Oh, we were out of control, weren't we?" Stella turned and looked at him. He blushed, although only a little bit, and luckily enough, she didn't notice.

"Yeah... like I said before... let me handle the whole 'flying around the ship' When you were in space on that Alliance ship you had medical officers right in your face as soon as you got out of your machine's cockpit, right?" He looked into her violet eyes which shifted with some uneasiness after her ears heard his words.

"Yeah... pretty much..." She sighed, a depressed feeling radiating from her.

"Don't worry, you'll never have to go through those experiences again, okay?" Shinn confirmed, looking directly onto her.

"Okay then..." She lightly nodded, and then seemed to embrace him, gently, if only for a few seconds. In those few seconds he could feel her... her desire to never have to experience those terrible thing again, and her desire, to make a better life for herself. It reminded him of himself, a little bit, and he would ensure that both of them would be able to achieve those desires.

"Fine..." He broke away. "Now, where were we?" He asked.

"Take me up there and I'll show you." She pointed towards the very back of the hanger bay, where all the loud sounds, both from commands and tools, were being heard.

"Fine." He clasped his right arm around her left, and gracefully kicked off of the ground towards a large barrier that was blocking their way. As soon as they managed to come above this barrier, and see the contents of it's other side, Shinn's eyes could not help but be overcome with both amazement and wonder. "What the hell is that thing?" He questioned.

To his right, he saw what appeared to be the backpack of the ORB-01 Sovereign. It was the same type of disk as before, but the "Solaris Flamis" Anti-beam emitters had either been removed, or never were there in the first place. Drifting around the disk were some kind of pod like devices. The engineers had wired these things up in so many different places. Stationed in the middle of the room were two flight simulators, and although they were off in the distance, Shinn could tell that Kira and Cagalli were occupying one of these, each, and had their eyes completely focused on it's screen. However the source of Shinn's shock and awe came from his left, where a massive, metallic, almost spider-like object had been leaned up against the wall of the hanger bay. Now that he looked at it, this object, with it's many sharp edges, resembled an array of wings, and like it's sibling unit, there were many different pod-like devices being worked on near them.

"Glad neither of us have to work on those things, right?" Stella giggled, observing Shinn's silent facial expression.

"Ugh yeah... so those are the Space Packs... if I remember correctly? Well, I guess I'm glad I don't have to muck around with them! That seems like it would be a massive time sink." Shinn laughed back.

"Yeah, wait until Kira goes out and starts absolutely owning everything in sight with his! Then you'll see it was worth it."

"Har har har...You're assuming I won't be doing the same!" Shinn spoke up, although his tone was not hostile in the least. However, the chatter between both of them had attracted the attention of a certain engineer.

"I couldn't help but notice you two talking endlessly about Morganroate's creations." Erica Simmons greeted, landing next to the two of them and standing up straight.

"Well, I'm just blowing time right now." Shinn shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you checked over the Judicator to make sure nothing's out of the ordinary and everything's as normal?" Erica asked.

"Yes! I finished all of that over an hour ago." He stated with annoyed enthusiasm. "When we sortie, my machine won't be giving me any surprises and trust me, I was excellent in the Academy when it came to combat in zero gravity."

"Fine then, I was just checking." Erica nodded.

"Although, let me get this straight." Shinn inched forward a tad. "So those devices are supposed to detach from the suit and fly all around the place, taking out the enemy from different angles, right?"

"What? You mean the WASPS? That's exactly what they do, but only in a zero gravity or low gravity environment." Erica answered.

"So, they're basically ORB's version of DRAGOONs, right?"

"Yes..." The Chief Engineer confirmed.

"Then tell me... because I think I'm suffering from Déjà vu, because Rey's machine, the Legacy, seems to serve the same function as Kira's in this form, with the same types of weaponry. Real unoriginal, if you ask me." Shinn observed.

"Well..." Erica rolled her eyes, sighing. "People who rate military designs by how original they are don't know what they're talking about. Function before form first in my book, but I guess what you're talking about is a very lucky coincidence. Our machines were meant to be top secret and were only ever meant to see the light of day should it be necessary, so we couldn't do much tests on them. We had to design all four of them around concepts that we had, for the most part, already seen in action and had proven their worth. That, and ever since I sat down and worked with the Prince on the Strike Noir's base design all those years ago, I could tell he had a 'thing' for wings on the back of his machine."

"Well, you could say I'm warming up the angelic look of the Judicator." Shinn smiled.

"Hmm..." Erica paused. "Ensign Asuka, I know what machine you're talking about, the ZGMF-X20S Legacy, I've checked the ship's database. Just by a quick glance of that mobile suit, I could tell that whoever built it had the same idea we had when Morganroate designed Kira's suit in secret, and that idea was based on the Freedom's final battle. They knew how to design a suit with powerful ranged capabilities based on their own technological limits. However, I don't think that Kira would really accept the idea of having a giant circle on the back of his machine, reminding him of that fight." Erica continued, and Shinn raised an eyebrow.

'I noticed how he fought Rey back at ORB... he seemed a bit more edgy then ever...' The ruby eyed coordinator thought. "So you gave that design concept to Cagalli's machine, right?"

"It's meant to represent the Sun more than anything, and it's proportionally bigger, so it passes the..."

"_Going to Condition Red! Going to Condition Red! All pilots are to board their machines and standby! I repeat, all pilots are to board their machines and standby!" _Abbey Windsor's voice, as well as the sound of a battle stations alert, blasted out of the hanger bay's speakers and echoed numerous times off of the chamber's walls, large mobile suit compliment, and everything in between.

"Ugh oh..." Stella looked Erica in the eyes. "What do we do?" She clasped her hands together in worry. "I'm guessing they're not ready for battle yet, right?" The Extended asked, and indeed, by Erica's sigh, she was correct.

"No, those suit's aren't ready to deploy in their space configurations, dammit..." Erica lowered her head.

"So what does that mean? Will Kira and Cagalli be sitting this one out for now or will they just cover the ship?" Shinn inquired.

"Cover the ship... cover the ship... from a long ways away..." Erica muttered. "Ensign Loussier, come with me, I think I might have an idea, but we need to gauge the enemy's strength first. Ensign Asuka, get ready to sortie!" She ordered.

"Ugh... I'm on it!" Shinn saluted, kicking off from where he was, his destination the room where the pilot's normal suits were kept, while the two females drifted over towards Kira and Cagalli's location.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Activate CIWS, Tristans and Isolde. Load launchers one through-" A red faced Arthur Trine quickly spat out orders as the door behind him opened up and Captain Gladys quickly thrust herself forward.

"What the hell is going on? Are they Earth Forces or Zaft, and where are they coming from? Come on, I need this information now, people!" Talia snapped her fingers, shoving the roof with her right hand to divert herself towards the Captain's Chair.

"Earth Alliance, ma'am. From eight o'clock. Distance, thirty five thousand." Bart informed.

"That's still a fair distance away..." Talia placed her right hand on her lower chin. "How many are there?"

"Can't confirm for sure, but there's at least two Agamemnon-class carriers, three Nelson-class battleships, and two additional Drake-class escorts. It looks like they're preparing to launch their own machines."

"Can we hit the debris belt before they reach us?" She asked.

"No ma'am." Bart shook his head horizontally. "We're still at least twenty minutes away, and that assumes we don't alter course."

"Understood." Talia took a deep breath in. "Arthur, continue arming the ship. Malik, bring us to maximum combat speed and prepare to evade enemy fire while maintaining course! Lower the bridge and prepare to launch all available mobile suits immediately." Talia ordered with a long, drawn out exhale, failing to pause herself even once between sentences. She then reached for the phone, only to have it beep just as she was about to grab it. "Who's this?" She picked it up, placing it close to her ear. "Yes?" She questioned as the bridge began to descend. "You're kidding... well then I don't have all day, what kind of idea do you have in mind?" She looked out the digital bridge screen with gray stoic eyes, her lip expression sterile yet ready as a voice spoke into her ear.

"Incoming mobile suits!" Bart yelled.

"Hang on..." Talia placed her left palm over the phone's receiver. "How many and what models? Are there any mobile armors among them?" She questioned.

"Matching thermal patterns..." Bart's hands sped across his keyboard. "They're definitely Windams, but they're using some brand new equipment from what it seems."

'Oh great...' A certain disgruntled Captain growled in her head. "Just be sure to have the mobile suits take off and stick in formation!" She commanded, placing the phone back near her ear. "Okay, so you're proposing we do what again?!" She asked with large, perplexed and doubting eyes.

* * *

The Minerva's port and starboard catapult doors began to swung upwards and open up as the linear catapult arms extended forward and lit up brightly.

"Judicator, standby for launch. Confirming all systems normal. Initiate launch sequence." Abbey Windsor followed through her procedure as Shinn's gundam prepared to leave through the ship's port side, it's eyes flashing on to a pure white and it's chest vents releasing a bit of steam. "Catapult online, Judicator, go ahead! Launch!"

"Shinn Asuka, Jud-" Shinn prepared to push forward on his controls and burst out of the ship, when out of nowhere, a holographic communication screen, revealing Commander Kira Yamato appeared to his left.

"HANG ON!" The Ultimate Coordinator warned, both his expression and tone signifying anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. Almost as if he was a student preparing to take a very difficult and critical examination.

"What? Kira!" Shinn inquired, releasing his hold on the Judicator's controls just a tad.

"Shinn, Cagalli and I will be sitting this one out for the most part. We'll be launching last but we won't enter combat. I can't explain everything right now, but just be sure to listen to obey your orders to the letter when they come in, alright?" Kira asked, fitting his own pilot's helmet onto his head.

"Fine then. But... orders... aren't we just taking out these Alliance suits?"

"Guard the ship, and don't get entangled with the Earth Alliance suits. Your objective isn't to take out their ships. You'll understand what's going on when it happens... Kira out..."

"Whatever..." He looked up to the lights that would signal his clearance, and indeed, they did say 'CLEAR', 'CLEAR', 'CLEAR', 'LAUNCH'. "Shinn Asuka, Judicator, taking off!" Now he floored it, the tall gundam rushing forward out of the ship's catapult as it's dark color scheme and glistening internal frame came online and evaporated it's shades of deactivated gray, the Judicator's wings folding upwards and opening as it's crimson red energy wings burst from their emitters. He could already tell that Stella managed to beat him out of the gate, as indicated by the flying silver dragon that soared through the space ahead of him, while the mass production models flooded out of the ship's twin catapults.

"Hang on, Stella, or at least wait for me!" Shinn protested to the Demoness' pilot, who simply performed a clockwise corkscrew in response.

"No thanks, I think I'll go on ahead and fire off the first shot, maybe score the first blood!"

"Oh really?" Shinn grinned. "Are you so sure about that? Because last I checked, there's a certain something on the ship that you want, and in order to get it you need to..."

"Oh fine! Gah!" Stella spat a moody pout, banking to her left and slowing down, approaching the dark Judicator gundam. "There, happy?"

"Much better." Shinn thanked. "Now, can you get visuals on the new suits? I was told they're unknown models."

"No, they're Windams, just with new equipment." She corrected him, raising her right wing up as a bright green beam rifle shot passed under it like a bolt of verdant lightning. "And there they are!" The blonde opened up a small window in the front part of her three hundred and sixty degree cockpit and magnified up ahead to get a better look at what had fired at her, while her gundam partner was forced to evade shots meant for him, too.

"Whoa..." Shinn performed a full roll to his left, dodging bright yellow and white weapons fire, only to easily rotate back towards the Demoness again, this time avoiding a powerful red and white beam. "Is it just me, or are they packing more then just beam rifles?"

"Oh..." Stella began to chuckle. "You gotta see this! Zoom in with one hundred times magnification!" She ordered.

"Fine." Shinn rolled his eyebrows, only to have his eyes widen with great surprise at what he saw. "The.. Strike Noir? And the Strike Rouge IWSP?" He questioned, although he was half right.

Coming at the ORB mobile suits was a respectively sized group of Windams, with half of them painted black, and the other half painted red and pink, roughly. The black ones were, as Shinn suggested, wearing striker packs that greatly resembled the Noir Striker used by Kira. Of course, there were differences, but from this distance, those changes could not really be described in great detail. As for the red Windams, they were mounting a variant of the Integrated Weapons Systems Pack used by Cagalli in her Strike. Like the black Windams, the packs used by these ones did have their differences though, and were easier to make out at this distance. Instead of two large shoulder mounted cannons, the red machines had two cannons mounted on the lower parts of their backpacks, much like the Savior, Blast Impulse, and Veneficus gundams. They also stored an anti-ship sword that looked like an updated version of the Sword Strike's "Schwert Schwert" 15.78m Anti-ship Sword, and this was stored on their right shoulder. Other than that, the machines still held the standard armaments of a Windam: CIWS, beam sabers, a beam rifle, explosive darts, but no shield though.

"No, just Windams. However, I've got one thing to say though... as soon as this war is over, hello copyright lawsuit!" Stella applied a mean, growling grin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Shinn responded, noticing a small flash of light behind the magnified image of the Windam formation. "EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY! NOW!" He quickly linked the communications channel to all of the deployed mobile suits and screamed at the top of his lungs. A split second later the Windams in the distance split their formation as a massive burst of battleship-caliber beams scorched through the vacuum of space, mirroring one of the moves used by the Le Creuset Team during the First War against the Archangel. Each of the ORB mobile suits took hasty evasive maneuvers to dodge out of the way as the gap between enemies closed. "Phew..." Shinn sighed, noticing how none of their machines had suffered a hit.

"Thanks Ensign... wow that was a close one." A women's voice, belonging to the Ootsukigata pilot Chikia gasped in response, a little on edge from the initiating blasts.

"You gotta be quicker then that, Chikia." A strong masculine voice, coming from Lieutenant Baba, one of the Minerva's Byakko pilots warned.

"I know, Lieutenant. It won't happen again." Chikia answered, locking onto the opposing suits.

"Yeah, it won't happen again because they're going to be running home soon enough!" Shinn wailed, pointing the Judicator's right arm forward and performing a taunting motion with it's respective hand.

"Oh, so the gundam punk wants to fight, eh?" A pilot of one of the black Windams stated, reaching for the anti-ship swords located in his backpack and arming himself for combat.

"Rarrgh!" Shinn roared forward, brandishing both Type-450MS "Executioner" Anti-ship swords, unfolding them and activating their plethora of beams, sweeping them back behind the gundam and rushing forward towards his challenger. "None of you are Kira! Or Cagalli! If you're going to use machines like that, say goodbye then!" He raged, dodging more beam fire from the incoming Alliance fleet and bashing himself against the Noir gundam in a flurry of lightning and power, claiming the first instance of close quarters combat for this battle.

* * *

While all this happening, Minerva:

The initial wave of beam fire was soundly evaded by the ship itself due to Malik's skills, rushing beneath her underside in a particle flash.

"ORB-02 Veneficus, Commander Yamato, go ahead." Abbey spoke into her microphone from the bridge. A split second later the unmistakable gundam belonging to the Ultimate Coordinator, equipped with it's ORB-02EP "Libertas" Sky Pack, jetisoned itself from the ship's starboard catapult and activated it's armor, only to stop and take cover behind the ship's bridge tower.

"Alright, now comes the tricky part... because the mobile suit's parts are too large to just leave the ship normally..." Talia muttered under her breath, another pair of twin beam shots passing by the ship, clearly overshot as they flew above her at a high angle.

"ORB-01 Sovereign, Lady Cagalli, you're last." Abbey finished, the base unit of the Princess' gundam rushing out from the vessel's port side launcher and glistening up the area with it's golden armor. "Okay then..." Abbey took a deep breath in. "I checked Meyrin's logs on how she does this... but it's my first time since the Impulse..."

"Be sure to launch the pack in between their firing periods, alright?" Captain Gladys turned towards the young blonde.

"Um... sure..."

"But wouldn't it reflect the beam if it suffered a hit anyway?" Arthur questioned, another beam shot passing by the vessel from port stern to starboard bow, flying over her highest point.

"Reflect it, right back onto the Minerva. Yeah, that sounds great, right?" An unamused Talia leaned her head back.

"Oh..." Both Arthur and Abbey responded.

"Don't worry, if Meyrin were still here I'd have to tell her to do the same, trust me." She gave a visual que to Abbey, another shot blazing over the bow deck of the ship at high speeds. "Malik!"

"Ma'am, doing my best!" The helmsman answered as the vessel dived forward slightly and evaded another blast.

"Okay, now!" Talia ordered, snapping her right fingers.

"Got it..." Abbey took a deep breath of confidence in. "Launching the Elegant Earth Pack, now!" She yelled, locking in her key commands. In reaction to this, the large disk of the Sovereign, which was now loaded onto the Minerva's central catapult, powered up it's engines and burst forward out of the ship, rushing around the side of the bridge and meeting up with it's mother unit, locking into place on the Sovereign's backpack right then and there.

"Alright... ready..." Cagalli said with a great degree of self-confidence, coming around to the other side of the ship and intercepting a large beam shot that was headed her way, reflecting it off into the distance, both away from the Minerva and the battlefield. "Kira, you ready? I'll cover you just in case, among other things..."

"Sooner the better, Cagalli" The brunette answered, his tone quite stressed. The two suits then took off into the distance, ahead of the Minerva, at an equal speed, heading directly for the debris belt that lay in front of them.

"And now... we wait..." Talia tapped her left fingers in a rhythm on their armrest, the ship rocking from side to side as she did.

"Launchers number one and two, fire!" Arthur commanded in the background, supporting the suits that were engaged in combat.

* * *

"Alright you Earth Alliance reactionary's, it's time we made up for what happened back down in the Mediterranean that day! You took some of our best men from us, and now you'll pay the price!" The long dark haired, brown eyed, tanned skinned Byakko pilot known as Kalur threatened, closing in with his Waverider mode machine at a precise angle, unleashing a flurry of beam fire from both of his rifles and his fin beam cannon, raining green hell down onto one of the black Windams. However, the Alliance pilot was no slouch, and in an instant, he had backed a bit aways by reversing his thrust, calibrating the targeting sensors on his own beam rifle to lock onto the Byakko, firing when he could. "Is that the best you can do?" Kalur questioned, slanting his machine to the right to gain distance from the Windam as he flew in a circle around the machine. "Because I can do better!" The Byakko suddenly transformed into it's mobile suit mode and withdrew it's pair of Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifles. In the blink of an eye, Kalur already had the Windam targeted and began to alternate fire from his rifles, suppressing the Alliance pilot's ability to fight back.

"So it seems ORB is no slouch when it comes to developing machines during the way. Doesn't matter, I'll take you down all the same!" An aggressive female voice that was piloting the Noir Windam blurted out, strafing to her right and dodging Kalur's fire, returning the favor whenever she could. However, it wasn't enough, not yet anyway. Up closer, the minor details that had been made to this suit's pack, in contrast to Kira Yamato's original Noir Striker, were more well defined. First of all, the small wings that were at the top of each main wing on a hinge, were gone. Secondly, the cannons on each wing were a bit wider, but didn't look to be as powerful, and were now a dull brown color. Lastly, each anti-ship sword seemed to be a bit shorter and thinner then the original, and in general, cheaper looking. Fitting, for a mass production model. "Times up!" She reached into the left side-skirt armor of her machine and quickly whipped out the Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator stored inside it and threw it precisely towards the Byakko, the small blade's reflective light being overpowered by the beam fire and in turn, camouflaged.

"What the!" Kalur was caught off guard and raised his suit's right hand in a reflex reaction, the small sharp object stabbing the beam rifle in it's hand and sinking deep into it's metal body. "Damn..." The Byakko let go of its gun and raised both it's shields for protection as the weapon exploded in front of it, the shock wave pushing it backwards.

"You're fried now!" The Noir Windam pilot laughed with a sense of arrogant victory, not only aiming her beam rifle forward, but activating the wing cannons on her striker pack and pointing them forward, under the arms, firing all three weapons in unison, the large guns not shooting beam shots like the original Noir, but more energy efficient Rail cannon blasts now.

"Confident, are we?" Kalur raised an eyebrow. The ORB pilot wasn't going to allow himself to be beaten so quickly, and so a fraction of a second before the shots would have struck his machine's armor, he had already switched into mobile armor form and was taking off in an upwards direction, arcing around the Windam.

"Very!" The female pilot answered, igniting her engines and boosting forward in pursuit with her beam rifle drawn, aiming it directly forward and trying to get a lock on the Byakko ahead of her, pulling the trigger whenever opportunity presented itself. "Come one... come on!" She growled, unleashing unsuccessful beam shot after unsuccessful beam shot until finally, in a stroke of either luck of skill, she landed a hit on her opponent's right foot, damaging the thrusters on the ORB machine's limb. "Got yeah!"

"No..." Liquid sweat dripped from Kalur's brow as he felt himself lose thrust as he tried to turn. To make matters worse, the Windam was now drawing a beam saber into it's left hand and a sword into it's right, preparing to charge in for the kill. Oddly enough, even though the anti-ship sword itself was not as long as the one belonging to the original ORB suit, the beam on this one's was actually greater in length then the original.

"Yes!" The Alliance pilot continued to race forward towards her target, preparing to outright impale the Byakko as it switched back to it's mobile suit formed and raised both shields quickly. Still, the girl felt confident considering her foe held no weapons in hand. "Say hello to death for me... ahh!" She screamed in shock, a powerful beam blast coming down from her upper right and dividing the area between the two suits in two. Hearing her sensors beep as an indication that she had been locked onto, the Windam pilot fell back as another beam blast tore through the area where her machine just was, and then another landed directly on top of her anti-ship sword, heating it up.

"Kalur, need some backup?" The voice of one of ORB's Ootsukigata pilots, Takito asked as he continued to make the Windam dance in space via use of his shoulder cannon and beam rifle.

"Son of a..." Kalur shook his head, and with a mix of both gratitude and disdain, activated the beam fangs on his right arm and powered forward. "AHHH!"

"Shit!" The Noir Windam pilot swore, backing off as a shot from the Ootsukigata's beam cannon clipped her right wing clean off.

"Not so cocky anymore, ARE YOU?" Kalur thrust the beam fang forward directly into the Windam's chest, igniting the air and body in it's cockpit into a burst of flames, withdrawing his weapon as the suit exploded.

"One down... how many more to go?" Takito questioned.

"Who knows, but I can't help you anymore, I'm best off retreating back to the ship after the damage I took..." Kalur growled as weak sparks erupted from the exposed wiring on his machine's damaged, severed leg, the point of impact all burnt and bruised before he switched back into Waverider mode and set course for the ship.

"Suit yourself..." Takito replied, switching into his own, respectable, wingless Waverider form and rushing away towards the heat of the battle.

* * *

The ORB-04 Judicator bounced back and forth between an opposing Noir Windam, the two machine's clashing their large beam swords together, trying to best each other.

"Flashy wings isn't everything, punk!" The Windam's pilot, a crew cut blonde Caucasian male this time shouted as he burst back away from Shinn's machine, lightning sparking off in the distance.

"That's very true, it has more to do with skill. Let's see how much you have..." Shinn smirked, concocting a plan in his head as he swung down with his right blade, sending a powerful beam energy orb spinning towards his foe. The Noir Windam quickly raised both of it's swords up high and swung them down in unison onto the unusual looking sphere, their beams countering the spin of the twilight orb and sending it down into space where no one would be bothered by it. However, this was what Shinn planned for, and with a quick burst of thrust forward, the Judicator struck down onto the backside of both opposing blades with it's left handed weapon.

"Huh... pull up!" The Noir pilot spased out as Shinn finished his sentence.

"... because anti-beam coating doesn't last forever, you ass!" Shinn warned as the intense lime green beam from the Judicator's sword raised the temperature of the Noir's blades to extreme levels, evaporating it's protective coating and melting through the sword from one side to the other like a hot knife through butter.

"AHH!" The pilot continued to lose himself, and in a knee jerk reaction, let go of his now useless sword handles and kicked upwards with his left leg just as Shinn tried to punch his right sword forward, and although he did deflect the Judicator's arm up forward, the blade on the Executioner's handle burnt and damaged the Windam's already black knee. "Okay... okay..." The pilot breathed in as he gained distance, although it seemed like Shinn was determined to run him through now.

"Prepare to!..." The Judicator's wings of light burnt in the coldness of space as Shinn rushed onward, but in the corner of his eye, he saw his enemy reaching for the beam sabers of his mobile suit. "Not!" The black gundam with a glowing frame pulled back at the last second while the Windam pulled out both of it's sabers and cut them forward, striking nothing.

"What?" The wide eyed Alliance pilot questioned.

"BUT NOW!" Shinn raised his right hand up and prepared to bring it crashing down onto the Windam.

"Micky! No way!" Another Alliance pilot, this time piloting one of the Rouge Windams screamed as she came flying from behind the Noir and intercepted Shinn's swing with her own long anti-ship sword.

"Dammit!" Shinn nearly bit his tongue while pulling back and locking the upper side of his right blade against the Rouge's, while the Noir Windam circled around and withdrew both of it's ES04B Beam Sabers. "Double dammit!" The Judicator turned on the beam shield on it's left hand and raised it's sword to block the swings from the black machine.

"Got you know!" The Rouge pilot chuckled as sparks of light erupted from all the striking beam swords.

"Oh do you?" Shinn grunted in disgust. "Because I think..." He pushed forward against the Rouge and gave in a little against the Noir. "YOU DON'T!" In the blink of an eye Shinn did what he could to pull away and lower his arms a little. With no opposing force for them to fight against, the two Windams then charged forward, a move that was completely unexpected and considered out of the blue by their pilots. The sword of the Rouge outright impaled the black Windam's chest, right below the neck, locking it into the spot as Shinn flipped his right sword's handle upside down, rose up, and then struck down, sinking the purple beam tip into the Rouge's head, neck and body, to pierce through the bottom of the crotch in the end. "Told you!" Shinn pulled the sword across the suit's body, the blade melting a path through the entire suit as he left the two there to die.

* * *

The Minerva's two Ootsukigatas were currently being harassed by one Noir Windam and two Rouge Windams. While in their Waverider modes, they were able to evade being hit, but weren't so lucky when it came to returning fire.

"AHH! Get off my tail, Feddie!" Takito moaned, pulling upward on his machine's controls with all his might, trying to fly over the head of the black Windam, which was trailing it with it's rifle drawn, always pointing up so as to lock onto his target. "Just... ahh" The Ootsukigata leveled out and then banked to it's right, juking the Noir while the ORB machine quickly flashed before it's pilots view and continued on in a circle for a couple seconds. "Alright..." The light blue and white mobile suit activated it's servos and changed form, sweeping around and lining up it's High-energy Beam Cannon onto Noir's upside down backside, the targeting radicals beeping quickly as they adjusted themselves into place, the pilot's eyes narrowing as his aimed shot was fired, but a little too late.

"SCREW YOU, ISLANDER!" The pilot of the Noir's screamed, leveling back and flipping around only to suffer a hit to his left arm at the shoulder, the shot breaking off the armor and thrusters on it and damaging the upper part of the right wing too. "Dammit!" He rotated to his left and lined up both his beam rifle and the cannon mounted on his right wing at the ORB machine, firing both beam blast and rail cannon shot in unison.

"Ugh..." Knowing that from this distance he couldn't dodge out of the way in time, Takito hastily raised his shield to guard the chest and cockpit of his machine as the two Noir projectiles impacted it, knocking him back, the sheer kinetic force of the Rail cannon forcing the top half of the shield to outright snap off and away.

"Takito! No!" Chikia screamed, watching her comrade get knocked away and disoriented from her own Ootsukitgata, changing course in an attempt to go aid him, only to be cut off as several yellow rail gun and green beam salvos flew in front of her suit's nose, cutting off her path. Slamming her fists down, she could only look to her right and notice the two Rouge Windams targeting her, locking her down.

"I'll be the one to take you down!" The Noir Windam's pilot yelled, withdrawing his pair of beam sabers, folding his wings back aggressively, and rushing forward at Takito, who had just brandished his own beam saber. The two machines, white and black, ground beam against beam, only to break away either upwards or downwards, perform a figure eight and then come at each other again, once more battling in close quarters, only this time, the Noir struck down with it's right beam saber onto the shield of the Ootsukigata, digging into what remained of the defensive device and forcing Takito to break off and eject it. "Haha! You're finished!" The Alliance pilot grinned a smug look of satisfaction as he threw his left armed saber aside and gripped the handle of his right one with both hands, charging forward at the knocked-back ORB machine.

"No!" Another, different, teenaged girl's voice boomed as it entered the combat scene. "You. Are. Finished!" The Demoness landed directly in front of the Ootsukigata, the tunnel visioned Noir pilot taken completely by surprise, his victory stolen from his as Stella allowed the beam saber to strike her suit's upper chest, it's armor blocking the damage completely.

"What the?"

"Well, you gonna fight back?" Stella questioned, kicking the Noir in the stomach and then sweeping around in a circle to her left, the large tail of the silver gundam lashing about and brutally smashing into the Noir's head unit, shattering it's glass optics outright as Stella followed up with a quick, extended jab from the spear end of her staff, it's beam boring a large hole into the Windam's cockpit.

"That was close. I owe you a drink once we get back." Takito chuckled.

"I'm underage..." Stella let out a subtle laugh. "Thanks though... now where's your friend... OH CRAP!" In the corner of her eye, Stella saw very clearly that there was some beam fire and beam lightning flashing from the other Ootsukigata as it struggled to avoid being picked off by a pair of red metal vultures.

"Well I'll think of something... let's go!" The two machines activated their respective mobile armor forms and ignited their thrusters to full.

"Go down! GO DOWN!" Chikia panicked, pulling her beam rifles trigger as fast as she possibly could at one of the oncoming Rouge Windams, it's large anti-ship sword drawn and ready to slice. However, it was all for naught, and even though she managed to avoid dying right then and there, a downward vertical slash from the Windam cut off her right arm and shoulder units, as well as the beam cannon mounted there too, the point of impact glowing a bright hot red and orange color. "Not now... NOT NOW!" The Ootsukigata's alarms began to go off out of control, the other Rouge blitzing toward it at a high speed, with the intention of finishing the first's job. "I said not now...!" Chikia closed her eyes and crushed her two rows of teeth together in a panic, narrowly strafing out of the way of the Windam. Not only that, but she also managed to withdraw her one beam saber, backwards with the left arm, raise it up, and then swipe it down, cutting the anti-ship sword at its exposed side and severing the weapon in two. "Phew..."

"Two can play at that game!" The Windam's pilot groaned in frustration, twisting his unit around so as to face the back of the Ootsukigata, hastily withdrawing one beam saber with his left hand in a backwards fashion like Chikia, and slicing off her unit's head in the blink of an eye. Then he pulled out one of his daggers with his left arm and impaled the backside of the white and blue mobile suit with them, the blade digging through the metal and piercing the cockpit through the seat first. "HAH!" He pulsed backwards, the dead Ootsukigata detonating with a well sized explosion following that.

"OH NO! We didn't get there in time! Dammit!" Takito smacked the palms of his two gloved hands together in a fit of rage. At the same time, the explosion had caught the attention of another ORB mobile suit, which was now closing in.

"Chikia? Was that Chikia? No! We'll get them back for this! You two, with me, that's an order!" The lead Byakko pilot, Lieutenant Baba fiercely ordered, Stella and Takito nodding in agreement, although the Demoness had more to say then that.

"YOU KILLED HER! BUT NO ONE ELSE! NOT! AT ALL!" The Extended's eyes glowed a fierce purple, a small SEED dropping from the Heaven's to an invisible floor in the back of her head, exploding into an incalculable amount of small, shining particles as she entered SEED mode. Recognizing this, the Demoness' console displayed the familiar message of 'Pilot S.E.E.D. Mode factor activation detected. ******S**uperior ******E**limination of ******E**nemies ******D**omination O.S. Activated.', while the suit's eyes themselves were overtaken from pure white to a rich, dark purple, it's bone like wings beginning to emit a green wings of light effect as the gundam rolled in the sky, and finally it's v-fin split so that on each side of the main fin there was a piece going up at a forty five degree angle and one at a sixty five degree angle. "I'll maul you to death!" Stella growled like a wild animal, the three transformable mobile suits switching into their fight forms and encircling the two Rouge Windams.

"Fuck! Now we're the one's who are outnumbered!" The Rouge pilot with the broken anti-ship sword warned as the three enemy machines performed an attack that was standard for the ORB Murasame-type: To fly up into the air, quickly change modes, and then fired downwards upon their enemies, pelting them with beams from above. Except this time, instead of facing three beam rifle shots, the Windams now faced fire from the Byakko's two rifles, the Demoness' shield, and the Ootsukigata's rifle and Beam Cannon. However, these pilots were not completely slouches, and managed to evade this linear fire, splitting up in opposing directions.

"You handle that one, Ensign! We'll take the other! Come on, Takito!" Lieutenant Baba ordered, the Demoness departing from it's allied machines and chasing after the completely intact Rouge Windam, switching back to Skylord Mode and flying through space with it's wings wide open.

At the same time, the other Alliance pilot wasn't to be taken lightly, and with a quick draw he had both of his sabers in hand, turned around, and unleashed hell onto the ORB machines with both his Rail cannon and beam cannon.

"I'll shut you guys up!" He fired barrage upon barrage, but both ORB pilots were out for blood now.

"There's no escape!" Takito rushed in from behind, and in the blink of an eye, dealt a serious, debilitating cut to the Windam's backpack, forcing it to eject it, the explosion launching the suit forward and forcing the pilot to the limits of his restraints.

"Bastard!" Lieutenant Baba swore, coming up in front of the wingless Windam and slicing it's body into two, at the waist with his left claws, the two halves of it, as well as many other parts flying off into the distance, igniting in flames.

"Told you I would maul you TO DEATH!" A completely determined, bloodthirsty Stella Loussier growled, ramming forward directly at her enemy as it turned around and tossed one of it's Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrators at her. "THAT WON'T WORK!" The Demoness' shield mouth began to ignite as the knife entered it, exploding and puffing out a cloud of smoke, like a breathing dragon, as Stella landed on the chest of the enemy suit and 'bit it' with the Demoness' head, activating it's whip for a second and serating the unit into many pieces before going balls to the walls and slicing it's body numerous times via use of her four Type-315CC "Talon" Twin beam claws. "Huh... huh..." She breathed heavily, both with sated revenge and general satisfaction while floating away from the doomed suit. "Shouldn't be too long now... hopefully we don't lose anyone else."

* * *

Agamemnon-class carrier known as the Reagan:

The three hundred meter long dark blue vessel continued to bombard the area ahead with it's pair of twin beam guns from a distance, several other Earth Alliance vessels doing the same.

"Come on, continue pressing the barrage! Tighten the formation, too! Also increase speed by fifteen percent across the entire fleet!" Captain Giles, the ship's Captain, who resembled an average individual from the northern part of the Atlantic Federation ordered.

"Are you sure about that, Captain? Most of our mobile suits have fallen." One of the officer's warned.

"Luckily we didn't send them all out yet. That was only the first wave, deploy the next third of our mobile suit core, stat!"

"Aye, Captain."

"Now all we have to do is wait and hope for the best! We've been at this for around twenty minutes, so I think we've seen what they're capable of for the most part. That ship is headed for the debris cluster! If it enters it, it'll have to slow down. When it does, if we're close enough, we'll be able to sink it then! Got it!" Giles explained with a cocksure expression.

"A sound plan, sir!"

* * *

The Minerva leaned to her starboard side, a group of beam shots passing over it's hull at a quick pace. The vessel then shifted and rolled to it's port, and another pair of battleship beam shots missed, flying behind the ship's engines and tail fin.

"Gah, they really are intent on taking us out..." Talia help onto her chair as the ship continued to make quick turns. Then, out of nowhere, the screen on the top left portion of the bridge flickered to life in an instant, and Erica Simmons appeared on the other side.

"I've just checked their status, and we're almost done." She warned with a neutral look.

"Understood." Talia gave a light nod. "Arthur, prepare to launch a full spread of deflecting anti-beam depth charges on my command. Malik, be ready to suddenly perform a full one hundred and eighty degree flip. And Abbey..." She turned to the young girl. "Recall all mobile suits from the line of fire. It's time we gave the aggressors a shock."

"Yes ma'am!" All three crew members buzzed their combined response together.

* * *

"Is that the last of them?" Shinn asked, folding in the Judicator's wings as it took up position near the Demoness and the remaining ORB suits.

"I think..." Stella started, when out of nowhere, several more beam rifle shots passed by the silver gundam, and more targets appeared on it's radar.

"Spoke too soon... dammit!" Shinn slammed his fists down, gripping his controls and re-igniting the Judicator's wings of light, taking off to defend. An aggressive Rouge Windam approached his machine dead on, slicing down with both of it's beam saber, only to have Shinn side step out of the way and push it around, slicing the red Windam from it's crotch to head right after. "There's so many..." He complained, while numerous other Alliance mobile suits noticed him and fired their powerful ranged weapons towards the Judicator. "Er..." He clenched his mouth muscles, moving to the side. "Firing all at once, at the same spot, just makes it easier for me to get out of the way, idiots!" He swung down with both swords and sent a pair of energy orbs at the opposing suits.

_**Beep Beep Beep**_

"Huh?" Shinn looked at his console. "The return signal! Finally!" He looked towards the Demoness as it shoved a Windam off of it, it's lime green wings glowing the same intensity as his. "Stella, we're to fall back now, alright?"

"Yeah yeah, I know! Fall back then, Shinn!" Stella answered from across the line, making no effort herself.

"I meant now, Stella! Remember, I've got the..."

"Okay, just give me a second!" She snapped.

* * *

Somewhere in the debris belt:

The ORB-02 Libertas Veneficus sat stationary in the vacuum, it's two rifles combined together and linked into a plug that was exposed from the mobile suit's chest. At the same time, both it's wing cannons and lower cannons were pointed forward and firing in unison with the beam rifles onto a converging point. At that converging point, a massive ball of dark blue and purple beam energy was forming, and behind it, the Veneficus' blue wings of light shone brightly. Nearby, the ORB-01 Elegant Sovereign was watching, standing on a nearby asteroid.

"Kira... are you ready? It's about to go critical... you can do this, I know you can." Cagalli spoke through all the silence in a caring, sincere, and humble voice.

"Apocalypse Laser is now fully charged and ready to be fired. Target is in view right now." The computer of the Veneficus spoke out loud in a monotone female voice.

"Okay... fine then..." Kira, who's eyes were very much in SEED mode said as he turned towards Cagalli's gundam and smiled. "I'm ready..." His said in stressed voice, releasing thereafter. 'Fire...' He mentally thought.

In that instant in time, the large ball of beam energy went unstable, and blue lightning sparked off of it in the blink an eye, an incredibly large ray of dark beam energy firing away towards the inner edge of the debris belt.

* * *

Minerva:

A large spark flashed in the distance, and at that point in time, Captain Gladys knew what happened.

"MALIK, HARD TO STARBOARD! ARTHUR, DO IT!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, a blinding light appearing in the distance and heading directly for the Minerva, the helmsman almost tearing the steering controls clean off of their mounts while he turned the ship.

"DEFLECTING ANTI-BEAM DEPTH CHARGES, FIRE!"

* * *

Reagan bridge:

"High... HIGH ENERY BEAM DETECTED FROM SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE ASTEROID BELT! I... I HAVEN'T SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!"

"What?" Captain Giles quickly jumped from his chair, his hat floating off in the distance on it's own. "Is it targeting us?" He questioned, and in the meantime, the Minerva launched several projectiles from it's hull.

"No... thankfully..." The officer took a sigh of relief. "I'll just barely miss us..." He breathed in, and the Captain took a sigh of relief. However, just as he said that, the charges fired from the Minerva exploded into great white balls of light as the beam passed by the ORB vessel and missed it. Despite this, it still impacted the blasts created by the anti-beam depth charges, and was averted even further away from the Minerva, those few degrees that would serve necessary to damage the Alliance forces...

"Hang on... OH NO!" The officers screamed with great fright.

"Do you mean... no... this can't be! WHAT KIND OF WEAPON IS THIS?!" Captain Giles' retina almost burnt out as the beam came rushing for his ship's bridge dead on.

* * *

"This was their plan? Stella, where are you, Stella?" Shinn backed away from the Apocalypse Laser's line of fire, and with no enemies near him, he scanned the area, looking for the Demoness as the massive beam rushed towards them.

Then, he saw the silver gundam surrounded by Windams, and right in the path the laser would take. "SSSSSTTTTTEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAA!" He could only cry, kick, and scream at the top of his lungs as the beam tore through the ranks of Windams, and from what he could see, his close comrade's gundam. The majority of the Alliance suits were obliterating in an instant by Kira's attack as it continued on towards their main battleship force, the bridge crew of the Reagan helpless to do anything but be destroyed by Kira's blast as it cut a swath of destruction through their ranks, sinking over half of their vessels right then and there. It was all over. In the time frame of about fifteen seconds, it had begun, and it had ended. The beam shrunk and faded into nothingness. All was silent in the depths of space. All... besides Shinn...

"Stella... no... I... I told you to stay back... we were... ordered to retreat away, but why? Why did you have to stay out there?" Shinn cried to himself, tearing off his helmet and throwing it aside to the zero gravity of his cockpit. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?" His head shot up into the air, wailing over the agonizing lose he had just suffered. Outside of his cockpit in space the Judicator stuck it's arms up and opened it's hands in anger, it's wings of light blazing furiously as a shadow slowly descended upon the gundam. "Stella... what do I do now? I don't think I'll be able to go on... without you... no..." He buried his head into his palms, his tears of lose suspended in the air around him, getting stuck in his hair or clinging to his face at the same time. Then, he felt something grip his machine's right shoulder.

"Don't think you'll be able to go on without me? But I'm right here... Shinn..." The blonde haired Extended said innocently, her gundam stationed right next to his in it's mobile suit form, it's own wings emitting a flowing sea of light particles alongside his own.

"What..." Shinn sobbed, turning to stare out of the left side of his cockpit. He couldn't believe it... really, he couldn't. "Ste... Stella...?" He questioned, while color began to return to his face and his tears started to dry up. He couldn't help but blush a little, to be honest. "You're alive?" he questioned, wiping his nose with his right hands and brightening up in the process.

"Yeah, of course I am, silly!" She smiled, the Demoness' head and violet eyes tilting towards his own in a friendly manner.

"But then... how... I thought... what the... ugh..." He signed, letting his shoulders drop. "I'm so confused... you were there, and you got hit by that beam...why are you here?" He stared into her, completely puzzled, and she giggled once again.

"That's what you get for not looking into our mobile suit designs, silly! I knew what Kira was going to do all along, and I distracted the Alliance suits. Watch and observe." The girl opened up a wide smile, the Demoness moving away from the Judicator, and then suddenly, by whatever means, the gundam 'split' into two identical copies. "Holographic projectors in my wing units... this is the Demoness' special function for SEED mode, Shinn." She informed.

"Oh my..." He couldn't help but smile back, being completely overtaken by a wave of relief and relaxation. "You should have to me then..." He cried tears of joy, planting his face into his hand and shaking it at the same time.

"Sorry then... Shinn... I'm sorry..." She gloomed. "Let's go back now, okay?" She requested.

"Alright then... that sounds like a good idea, I've had enough." He answered, both machines firing up their engines and setting course for the Minerva, trailing behind the rest of the ORB mobile suits.

"Shinn, what did you mean when you said you wouldn't be able to go on without me?" Stella questioned, turning to the black gundam.

"Ugh... well..." He scratched his head, blushing a deep red as he did. "Nothing..."

"Come one... tell me!" She inquired some more.

"Well... I guess... I just feel..." He tried to spit out words.

"I guess without me you won't have any use for that ring, or anyone to explain your own suit to you, right?" She laughed.

"HEY!" He protested, but all she could do was laugh some more. "I can look at my suit's specs if I want to, and I can learn from them, if I have the time."

* * *

Minerva bridge:

The entire room seemed to exhale all together with great joy and released stress, all members of the crew nodding and whispering to themselves.

"The Alliance Fleet is completely in disarray. Their remaining machines are retreating and their surviving vessels have altered course, ma'am." Bart informed.

"HAH!" Arthur clapped his hands together. "Running with their tails between their legs. That'll teach them!" He cheered.

"Yep..." Talia leaned on her right arm rest. "No other vessels in the area? Our mobile suits are retuning, right?"

"No hostiles detected in range." Bart said.

"All combat deployed machines are coming back and the hangers are open. I just got a message from the Sovereign: Lady Cagalli says she needs to talk with Commander Yamato and that he's exhausted. After that, they'll return to ship." Abbey stated.

"Understandable considering how stressful that must have been for him..." Talia straightened her back up. "Malik, fold in the main wings and prepare to carefully navigate the ship through the debris belt at the recommended speed."

"Fold in the wings?" A perplexed Arthur asked.

"So they don't bump into anything. It's better that we reduce our overall area and size if we can. Besides, wings aren't needed in zero gravity." Talia explained.

"Oh... ugh, right ma'am..." Arthur frowned. Outside, the pair of massive crimson red and gray wings of the Minerva folded into it's main body, and the vessel's engines decreased in thrust intensity as she entered the clustered area that was the debris belt: Mankind's dump in outer space.

* * *

Location: Carpentaria Military Base, Australia

Time: Twenty one hundred hours

Data: January 30th, CE 74

The entire base was in a hustle and bustle as it prepared the Archangel for departure. Massive crates of supplies rolled into her cavernous, open hanger bay via convener belts within the base. At the same time, the four ZGMF-XxxS gundams were completely repaired, and ready to go, although their phase shift was, as to be expected, deactivated. In the meantime, the four pilots of these top of the line mobile suits were gathering inside the ship's lounge, conversing about their next actions.

"Where's my father, does anyone actually know?" The FAITH Elite known as Heine Westenfluss asked as he made his way into the room, the other three red suited soldiers already settled into their own positions.

"I think Admiral Westenfluss has gone to see the Chairman himself." Rey Za Burrel informed sharply.

"Alright, I'll go look..."

"I would suggest not departing from the ship, Heine." Rey snapped. "For all we know, he could be back any second now and then the ship would be fully stocked and waiting to take off. Besides, I'm sure it's not something serious."

"Oh.. alright, fine then." Heine calmed a little, his voice struck down a tad as he took seat next to the other pilots. At the same time, all Athrun could do was stare directly at Rey, looking at the blonde with an incredulous glare, although Rey wasn't returning the favor at all.

* * *

Chairman's Office, Carpentaria:

"Mr. Chairman, are you seriously sending the Archangel into space on a pursuit mission _at this hour?" _Kendan questioned, landing both of his open palms onto the desk of the long black haired Chairman.

"Yes... is that an issue? The military operates all twenty four hours, seven days a week, if I'm not mistaken." Durandal, who had not been shaken whatsoever by Kendan's question answered. He didn't even bother to take his eyes off of his computer terminal.

"Err... I know, but for something like this... this! Chasing around one ship? I would rather be on the hunt for Djibril right now, wherever that snake managed to hide in the cracks of the Earth Sphere! I'm an Admiral! My ship should be with the Lunar Fleet, not hunting down the Minerva on some errand for you!" The Admiral viciously stuck his right hand into the air.

"I've already deployed many teams to investigate his whereabouts. You have your own assignments, now carry them out. Besides, in addition to our prototype gundams, I've also ordered a few new models deployed to the Archangel. It's strength now should surpass any other vessel that exists." Durandal calmly commanded. In the meantime, inside the Archangel, four new identical suits were being loaded into the ship's mobile suit hanger bay. These quadruplets greatly resembled the ZGMF-XX08T DOM Soldier used by Rey Za Burrel in the past, but they all held a different color scheme of dark purple and black instead of the blonde's lighter colors.

"Sir..!" And then the Chairman stood up and expressed his height advantage over the Archangel's commanding officer, although Kendan wasn't shaken one bit.

"Admiral, you act as if these orders are in any way, shape, or form, in dispute. They are not in the slightest, and you should be grateful that I'm giving you the chance to carry them out; to search for something that is very valuable to our _plan_." The Chairman's voice became a little more stiff, a little more demanding, and much more serious.

"Grateful? Oh, please... we'll carry out your orders but..." Kendan growled.

"Yes, grateful, Admiral Westenfluss." Durandal began. "If I remember correctly, the incident involving the Lohengrin during Operation Justice was completely ignored by the Supreme Council, correct? Take a guess who managed to pull the strings required to make that happen?" Durandal tilted his head to it's right side, giving Kendan a sour look.

"Yes, but as it stands I'm one of Zaft's highest ranking officers, am I not?" Kendan stepped a little closer to the edge of the desk, his belt buckle rubbing against it's top lip.

"Very true, but we have others as well." Durandal emitted a low, annoyed sigh, walking around to the other side of the desk. "Let me just be clear right now. Although FAITH Members are allowed to command the battlefield as they see fit, Captain Gladys was in the right when she called you out on your actions that day, because I myself explicitly ordered for civilian casualties to be kept to an _absolute minimum." _

"Oh really..." Kendan crossed his arms, a proud look on his face.

"I'll be Frank: You know I want Logos dead, and you know that I want to put an end to war and bring for everyone. Do you understand." Durandal gently tapped his right toe. "For everyone! That means no shooting hugely populated civilian locations with anti-matter cannon as a way of saying 'might makes right', alright?" He questioned, and all Kendan could do was groan and growl in the face of his Commander and Chief. "So in addition to your actions, you also cost Zaft one of it's most advanced vessels, skilled Captains, and capable crews. This cannot be ignored, even by myself, and it forms the icing on the cake of how many bad marks you have to your name right now! Enough to land you in some very... dark places for... exceedingly long times. However, I know what you're capable of doing, so I bailed you out, because I could. That means you will obey my orders when I assign them. You're a man who's been in this military for how long already? Longer then most of your pilots have been alive for! You know this stuff by now! Besides, I don't need one of my best coming and complaining my ear considering how much I've got on my back right now after the incident involving Ethan Rulski."

"You didn't even order an assassination..." Kendan lowered his head, finally submitting to Durandal.

"I know!" Durandal barked with an uncharacteristic anger and rage. "He took the matters into his own hands! However, that doesn't mean I've had many 'alerts' from my chiefs of security regarding people who want my head on a platter because of that event! Luckily, there are some sensible people out there who are pointing out the fact that _I wasn't the one who gave him his job in the first place, _and that it's sensible for the line of Chairmen to continue making use of an individual like Rulski." He turned away and signed, his nostrils flaring with negativity. "I've already talked to the other members of the Supreme Council and I won't be going back to Aprilius One, probably not until our 'Grand Unveiling', but I will be taking a shuttle to Armory One in the morning."

"Armory One? Isn't that where Athrun's fiance is now?"

"On tour, yes, and for good reason. She expects me to set everything straight with her once I arrive, and then she'll do what she can."

"Right... I understand, times are tough and public opinion is turning."

"Not to the extent where people will riot in the PLANTs, at least not yet." Durandal cut him off.

"Fine." Kendan said. "I guess I'll be on my way now... now that you've made everything 'crystal clear'." He rolled his eyes, turning towards the door and slowly making his way towards them, only to stop half way and turn back. "Oh, and just one question." He began in a heavily sarcastic voice. "How do you expect us to track down the Minerva, considering the lead she already has on us? They could be almost anywhere in the Earth Sphere by now!"

"Hmmph..." Durandal popped a sly, fox-like grin. "I've informed Halrun's Team already and they're trailing them right now. That, and Za Burrel knows. I've already informed him of what is necessary... what will lead you directly to the Minerva's location, alright?"

"Oh yeah, that guy..." Kendan rolled his eyes. "You know, I know about his condition, but lately he's become a bit more irritable, unfriendly, and generally detached compared to how he was before. Know anything about it?" Kendan crossed his arms, staring at Durandal with neutral, flat lips.

"Is that so?" Durandal pondered. "I guess... time is taking it's tole on him now. What worked in the past is losing it's effect, at least for him. That's all I have to say." The Chairman stated, making a gesture that greatly resembled the process of swallowing a large pill with water to help it wash down one's throat.

"Fine." Kendan quietly stormed out of the room, leaving Durandal alone to think. The Chairman then made his way back to his computer desk, sat in it's chair, and turned to look out of the window as the Australian sun set in the background.

"Ah, Al Da Flaga, he certainly was a piece of work back in his day. A man with a fixed objective, and who would be more than willing to throw anyone aside who betrayed him without second thought. A man who always understood his dreams and would throw friends, family, or even his own life aside to achieve them. A man who, you, Rey Za Burrel, like your brother, are... however, unlike your brother, you are a perfect clone... you were never modified to be a coordinator, and the process used to create you was slightly different in it's methods. Therefore, despite your best efforts, you are changing back into what your genes dictate you to be, until your time comes to end. After all, that is your Destiny..." Durandal rested his head on his right hand. "No amount of pharmaceuticals are going to alter that reality either..."

* * *

Location: Minerva Outer Hallway

Time: One hundred hours.

Data: January 31st, CE 74

"You're up a little late, don't you think?" The voice of a certain brunette pilot who also doubled as ORB's Prince asked as he drifted towards Shinn, who was looking out of one of the ship's starboard side windows, holding a data tablet at the same time. They had just exited the debris belt about half an hour ago and now the Minerva was running her engines at full speed towards Lagrange Point 4.

"What, are you my Mom or Grandma?" Shinn turned and asked in a smug tone, smiling at the older pilot shortly after. Kira then came to a stop on the window sill and planted his feet gently on the ground with a tap.

"Hehe... sure." Kira answered, turning and looking out the window. "So, what are you looking at, if you don't mind me asking."

"Checking over the Judicator's hardware point for point. I may not either a fan or expert of mobile suit mechanics, but after being forced to learn how the Impulse, or any or machine works, I think I've got some skills under my belt. Right now I'm just looking at what I can get away with... tricks wise. I think I've got at least one idea that'll shock whoever's on the other side of it." Shinn grinned with the usual confidence of a teenager his age.

"I'm guessing Stella had something to do with that, right?" Kira leaned on the sill with his right shoulder.

"Well we did have a conversation before the Alliance showed up, and although she was a bit chatty..."

"When it comes to machines, hell yeah..." Kira interjected.

"Hah! Yeah, she talked quickly and a lot, but I found myself capable of just watching and listening without complaint for whatever reason. I felt a little comfortable listening to her words... just her voice..." All optimism then left the red eyed coordinator's voice. "And then she gave me quite the fright when you forced the battle to it's climax. I never felt such dreadful emotions like that since... well... you should be able to name some of my experiences, but none of them amounted to this... to the pain I felt. I guess that's why I'm doing what I am right now." Shinn explained, scrolling down on the pad.

"I heard... believe me, I know what happened."

"No doubt you would, especially on a ship like this." Shinn spoke quietly.

"Hmm..." Kira could only nod. 'I guess my thoughts about Shinn and Stella are true... so be it then, I won't go any further. Haumae forbid I cause a rift considering what those two have been through already...' The Ultimate Coordinator quietly and humbly reasoned to himself, the hallway maintaining it's near-silence for about a minute and a half afterwords, only the sound of white noise and the occasional point-clicks by Shinn making significant sound.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Shinn spoke up, tapping a series of commands on the pad and causing it's screen to go blank black.

"Depends on the question, I guess." Kira replied, and now Shinn looked at him.

"I knew all along that your new machine, the Veneficus, was packing some kind of serious heat, but I never realized until now how powerful it was. Did you know that it could do that, when you first were informed about it's existence?"

"Yes... unfortunately." Kira took a great big sigh.

"And so, I'm guessing you didn't take to lightly to that, did you? It's funny, because I remember in training they showed us footage from the end of the war, and most of the time either the Freedom of Justice were on the field, they didn't actually try to kill their opponents, if they were just normal mobile suits. For someone like that to... come into a possession of such great power... well, the tone of your voice said it all."

"Shinn, I know we talked during the break between Zaft's attack on ORB and when the Minerva launched..."

"About some very controversial topics..." Shinn braced his right shoulder with his left hand. 'Like Athrun Zala...'

"Yes, but I want to fill you in on something that I haven't told you before, is that alright?" Violet eyes asked with curiosity. Shinn nodded approvingly. "Okay, here I go. When I first read over the Veneficus' combat capabilities, my initial reaction was that it was an upgraded version of the Freedom. For the most part, I was right. However, then I continued, and I looked at the Apocalypse Laser function. All I could do was complain and protest to Mrs. Erica Simmons about it after, asking her why she would design something like that, and refusing to pilot the machine. After all, a laser like that... it's a weapon of mass destruction... at the end of the First War I was asking myself and others why nuclear weapons ever existed in the first place... what purpose they could serve? And so why would I take up a machine that had something comparable to them in power?"  
"That's... deep..."

"Then the battle started, and the ORB Military, as strong as it was, was initially on the back foot. It was then that I realized I needed to fight... I needed to take a stand and protect my country, and the women who reigns over it."

"Cagalli..."

"So I put my principles aside, and stepped into the cockpit."

"Then I fought you." Shinn smiled a little, however his expression was soured with mighty haste as Kira pointed his right finger at the younger boy.

"But... I kept something in mind... I would only ever use the Apocalypse Laser when it was necessary... to protect that which I'm fighting for. You see Shinn, protection and destruction are two sides of the same coin. People shame one and place the other on a high pedestal, but in reality, they're identical... just depends on how you look at it."

"Hmm..." Shinn silenced himself for a few moments, taking in Kira's words, thinking about them, and letting them sink into his mind before asking another question. "That still doesn't explain why you don't shoot to disable all the time."

"I'm not sixteen anymore, Shinn." Kira gently snapped a little. "Yes, it may seem like a great and righteous thing to charge onto the battlefield and try to save everyone, to ensure that nobody dies, but it'll cost you in the end. What happens if you spare the man who's willing to destroy your home, country, and family by his own will, because he thought it was the right thing to do? What happens then?"

"Well... I don't think I would ever do something like that..."

"I found myself fighting someone who would just do that... and he would be laughing like a lunatic while he did." Kira stated, and in his mind, the image a blonde, masked man haunted him. "That's kind of when I realized, either during that battle or in the time afterwords while it was fresh in my mind, that you have to use your power to make choices. You have to decide what it is you're fighting to protect, and protect that above all else, although not recklessly. You have to set limits on what you're going to try and save, because no one is strong enough to save everything in every situation, and even if they did, it wouldn't take long for the people to go back and try and murder each other _again_. That's why I don't shoot to disable anymore, because who's to say those enemies won't grudge me, hate me, and come back even stronger then before, and make me pay for my mistake?"

"That's a very good point, but still..."

"But still?" Kira hummed. "Well, I don't think I'm ever going to fight those who can't fight back, or kill those who never had an intention to kill, but once you take up the sword... don't expect much mercy, it's as simple as that."

"I agree..." Shinn stated in a calm, low voice, the Ultimate Coordinator yawning right afterwords, stretching his arms up high into the air.  
"Well... I'm off to bed now. It was nice talking to you, Shinn..." Kira stated, turning and going back the way he came.

"I think I'll hit the hay sooner rather than later, now that I feel my own fatigue..." Shinn replied back, walking away silently as the Minerva continued to travel through space.

* * *

Location: Minerva en route to Mendel

Time: One thousand hours

Data: January 31st, CE 74

The vessel's alarms once more went off on full volume as the sound of the ship's CIC officer blasted throughout her halls.

"**_Going to Condition Red! Going to Condition Red! All pilots are to board their machines and standby! I repeat, all pilots are to board their machines and standby!"_**

Shinn, Stella, and a few other members of the Minerva's mobile suit compliment were rushing down her halls at a quick pace, prepared to enter the changing room for normal suits, when suddenly they were stopped by the tall, long black haired man known as Lieutenant Baba, guarding the entrance.

"What are you doing? Aren't we supposed to be getting ready? Whoever is coming after us could probably be here any minute!" Stella stomped her foot down in protest.

"Calm down, everything's under control. None of us will be launching unless things out there get really rough." Lieutenant Baba stuck his hand forward.

"What the hell do you mean!" Shinn growled.

"Hey! Watch it!" Baba barked back. "Commander's orders. He said because of what happened earlier, you guys deserve a break so they'll handle everything. Now go to the lounge and watch the magic show take place! That's an order, I outrank each of you and I'm pretty sure I out muscle you too!" Baba raised both eyebrows in an aggressive stance, cracking his knuckles too.

"Fine!" Shinn crossed his arms, not wanting to find out whether or not the Lieutenants' second claim was true. 'What the hell are you up to, Kira?' He mentally grumbled.

* * *

Minerva Bridge:

The command center had just lowered itself down into it's combat position, the main screens flashing to life and displaying a camera feed for the bow of the ship.

"Just our luck, we encounter Zaft in the final leg of our journey, and we're already down one mobile suit! Bart!" Talia spoke up.

"Detecting four Nazca-class vessels approaching at a high speed! From three o'clock! Distance: Twelve thousand!"

"Arthur, hurry with those preparations, and get ready to launch our machines!" Talia ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Arthur answered.

"Captain, the Commander and Lady are ready to launch! Shall I..." Abbey attempted.

"Yes! Now!" Talia made a rotating motion with her left hand.

"Detecting heat signatures from the Zaft ships! Identifying ZAKU Warrior and GOUF Ignited types! They're heading right for us!" Bart informed as the two catapult doors of the ship swung up and open, the catapults themselves extending forward.

"Cagalli Yula Attha and Kira Yamato, ORB-01 Enlightened Sovereign and ORB-02 Immortalis Veneficus, preparing to launch." Abbey spoke into her microphone, those same words transmitting down the Minerva's wires and into the ship's hanger bay as the two machines readied themselves for combat, however the Sovereign was lacking it's backpack. "Preparing central catapult. ORB-01SP on standby."

* * *

"Cagalli..." Kira looked to his right; towards his sister and her unit.

"Kira, you ready?" Cagalli questioned.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Now let's do it!" Kira answered, the light reflecting off of his scar a tad.

"Launching ORB-01SP! All units, clear!" Abbey finished, the other golden disk of the Sovereign, which was equipped with several pods now ejected itself from the central catapult at a high speed.

"Cagalli Yula Attha, Sovereign, taking off!" The Lioness roared, punching her controls forward and speeding along the track until she jumped and took off into space, her backpack remotely locking onto her unit and changing course to dock.

"Kira Yamato, Veneficus, let's do it!" Kira did the same, initiating his sortie as the Veneficus left the Minerva's port side, spinning in the air, activating it's phase shift and glowing frame as it met up with it's sister unit, which had now locked it's backpack into place, both mechs rotating around each other back to back. Now, both of their phase shifts activated, and the Veneficus spread it's new wings open wide and proud, emitting eight different, smaller wings of light from it's hard points, the gundam shining in the darkness of space, it's icy blue inner frame glistening in the darkness, while the sunlight reflected perfectly off of the Sovereign's gold armor in all the right places, sending a blinding beam of photons everywhere.

As the two suits stood side by side, they could not help but notice the large amount of small specks of light heading right their way, coming from the engines of opposing mobiles. Out of nowhere, one blast rushed forward towards the Veneficus, flying greatly over its head and outright missing.

"Learn to aim properly!" Kira bellowed, quickly withdrawing the unusual beam rifle on his right side skirt and raising it up, firing it in an instant, a red and blue beam shot tearing through space into the distance, until it disappeared, only to be replaced by a small explosion in the distance.

"That was Juan! Dammit!" One of the Zaft pilots, controlling a GOUF Ignited complained as he watched his friend's suit suffer a direct, super accurate, head on hit to it's mono-eye and end up disabled right then and there.

"Bastards! Lets go, guys!" Another GOUF pilot surged forward and aimed his hand-mounted beam cannons into the distance, firing them at will, several of his friends following suit.

"Kira..." Cagalli looked towards the Veneficus.

"Cagalli..." Kira replied, their two gundams evading the massive volley of oncoming fire headed their direction. The two ORB-0x machines then lit up their engines and powered forward, both twins nodding silently in agreement, closing their eyes together.

Then, the eyes of their suits changed colors from white, to either purple or gold, depending.

Following that, their v-fins transformed and became more ornate.

Finally, the pods that were on each of the suit's backpacks broke off from their units and flew into the distance, the Veneficus' dark blue pods leaving behind comet-like tails in their wake, all fifteen WASPS spreading out and around both the gundams and the large mass of Zaft mobile suits, disturbing the pilot's greatly.

"What the?"

"These are?"

"GET A LOCK! GET A LOCK!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this!"

And a bad feeling was right, for in the blink of an eye, Kira and Cagalli both opened their eyes, their irises now fully transformed into the dull, unreflective gradients of SEED mode. The havoc had just begun...

At a speed just under that of light itself, every one of the fifteen WASPS began to open fire on the Zaft suits in a coordinated, well done strike. Beams blitzed and blazed across the battlefield at both ridiculous speeds and frequencies, the WASPS appearing in one location only to disappear a split second later as the Zaft machines were utterly overwhelmed. Several of them were picked apart and decimated in a matter of seconds, with others, such as Slash ZAKUs and GOUFs, which were equipped with weak, rapid fire weapons, pitifully fired their beams into the distance, trying to get locks onto the machines, but failing miserably at doing so. Yet even through all this carnage, Kira and Cagalli's main machines were not simply sitting on the side lines, they too were joining in the battle, unleashing hell onto the mono-eyed suits with their various ranged weapons, only to be forced into defensive postures a second or two later.

"What the? MY GOD!" One of three Gunner ZAKU pilots spat from the back of the group.

"This is awful!"

"Well let's do something about it! Target those suits and their ship, now!" The three of them each unfolded their massive M1500 "Orthros" beam cannons and targeting the Sovereign, Veneficus, and with great precision, the Minerva herself which was off in the distance.

"They're putting up more of a fight!" Kira warned, recalling some of his WASPS back.

"I'll handle it!" Cagalli spoke with supreme confidence, detaching her large disk from her machine's back and sending it, and her WASPS off.

"Now DIE!" Each of the three ZAKU pilots yelled, unleashing a triple salvo of powerful, ship-killing beam blasts. However, they would be stopped right in their tracks.

The shot that aimed at Cagalli was obviously reflected back at it's origin, ending that ZAKU outright.

Kira, putting some faith in his sister, sat in his place as the Sovereign's backpack flew in front of the Veneficus and absorbed the shot dead on.

Lastly, four of Cagalli's golden WASPS traveled between the ZAKU and the Minerva, spread apart into a square formation, and projected a large, bright blue beam shield between them all and stopping the blast dead in it's tracks. To make matters worse, once the Sovereign's backpack returned, Kira performed a back flip and avoided a GOUF as it took a swing at him, shooting the unit in the back and aiming his two large beam cannons backwards in the process, firing them and dispatching the remaining two green Gunner ZAKUs.

"Damn... that's actually kind of fun..." Cagalli grimaced, her backpack returning and her WASPS doing the same.

"It's not over yet!" Kira alerted, grabbing the arm of a Blaze ZAKU Phantom as it took a swing at the Veneficus with it's MA-M8 Beam Tomahawk, the black gundam bending the unit's arm in an unnatural way, eventually breaking the hydraulics and snapping it off at the elbow, kicking it into the distance and pelting it with CIWS fire afterwords as a finish. "We still have their mother ships!"

"Right!" Cagalli nodded. "Take them out and there's a chance Zaft won't know where we are!" She added, both machines flying around and finishing off the small number or remaining grunts.

* * *

Bridge of the lead Zaft Nazca-class Retribution:

Captain Halrun, the man in charge of this attack, was at a complete and total lose for words. Well, insightful words to say the least. He could not help but be stricken by shock and awe as he sat forward in his chair.

"Just under two minutes... JUST UNDER TWO MINUTES... AND THOSE TWO MACHINES SOUNDLY DEFEAT THIRTY SEVEN ZAKUS AND GOUFS, AND THEY DO IT... THAT QUICKLY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" The fat bearded white suited man was losing it as one of his officers caught something on radar.

"Ugh... Captain... incoming enemy mobile suits...!" The radar officer cringed with a look that could only be described by the word 'Mommy?'.

"ST... STAND OUR GROUND!" Halrun stood up! "ALL SHIPS, OPEN FIRE WITH ALL WEAPONS!" He shouted as loud as he could, all four blue Nazca-class vessels freeing their weapons and desecrating space with a large multitude of beam fire as Kira and Cagalli closed in, the Sovereign and Veneficus spinning in unison together until the golden suit took position in front of the black one, reflecting all incoming beam blasts and aiming it's shield forward at the lead Nazca, taking out it's pair of large single beam cannons with a shot each.

"Kira!" Cagalli ordered.

"Now it's my turn!" He yelled, flipping upwards and withdrawing both of his beam rifles, deploying all eight of his WASPS and pointing both Type-275MC "Obliterate" Mega energy beam cannons forward, targeting the Nazca-class' on the outskirts each, four WASPS surrounding each cannon in a circle like formation. "NOW TAKE IT!" He fired two shots from each cannon, and each WASPS emitting a small, light blue spark of light at the same time, striking the cannons beam and amplifying their strength, the two ships helpless as they were both struck by not one, but TWO empowered beam blasts from the Veneficus directly on their central hulls, sinking from the overflow of damage.

"I'll take right, you take left!" Cagalli stated as she broke off towards the forward remaining Nazca.

"Fine by me!" Kira flew towards the other one, evading it's beam fire quickly as he tossed the rifle in his left hand into the air with a spin, it's back end opening up, only to be impaled by the barrel of it's twin, the combined shotgun now aimed towards the Nazca's starboard side as Kira took many shots at it, the beams burning into the hull and dealing massive damage. If that wasn't bad enough, each of his eight WASPS activated their single beam blades and hungrily rushed at the ship, flying directly into it in multiple places and dealing enough damage to sink it.

"Ugh... AHH!" Captain Halrun screamed like a little girl as the Sovereign's WASPS formed a large beam shield again, blocking hits from it's two smaller 'shoulder' mounted twin beam guns while the golden mobile suit jumped towards the bridge and slammed down hard on it with it's right shield, the triple beam fangs sinking into the room, causing it to burst into flames and killing everyone on board. Knowing that the damage had been done, Cagalli moved away, with Kira by her side as the fight came to an end.

* * *

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" The Byakko pilot known as Yoshura stood with wide, gawking open eyes, observing the battle's climax.

"Well... I guess we didn't have to sortie at all... damn..." Shinn commented from the Minerva's lounge.

"Damn is right..." Stella spoke softly.

"Minerva, we're on our way back..." Kira stated as the two gundams continued back to their unharmed mothership.

"Understood. We'll welcome you with open arms." Abbey replied. In the meantime all Talia could do was stare at the two glowing stars with a hint of pride.

"Malik, continue on our base course once they arrive... maximum speeds..." She ordered, knowing that there wouldn't be much of a struggle, if any at all, to make it to Mendel now.

* * *

A/N: Alright, a week since my last update, but there you go, probably the _very last _one sided fight of this series, to be honest. What, don't think there's more Noir and Rouge Windams? What about the Archangel's DOMs, and Girty Lue? Stay tuned to find out.

Speaking of the Rouge Windam, I want to make something clear, while you're to see both it and it's counterpart as basically a Windam with the respective color scheme and backpack on, the Rouge's Striker does not necessarily resemble the I.W.S.P. Pack. Rather, it looks like the Ootori (Phoenix) Pack used by the Rouge in the GSD Remaster. Just to clarify that up.

* * *

Now, onto specs:

ORB Backpacks:

___ORB-01SP "Enlightened" Space Pack_

While in space, the ORB-01 Sovereign gundam mounts the ORB-01SP "Enlightened" Space Pack. Which is very similar but superior to the "Elegant" Sky Pack, also requiring the gundam's pilot to be in SEED mode. This pack increases the height of the mobile suit from 19m to 25.6m, and increases it's weight to 97 metric tons.

Gamma Ray Canceler

Allows the "Enlightened" Space Pack to cancel out gamma ray blasts up to a certain strength.

Energy absorption array

If a beam rifle/beam cannon shot hits the center section of the disk, it will absorbed and it's power will feed the battery of the disk, allowing it to operate independently from the Sovereign for a longer period of time. If a positron cannon meets the disk, the disk is able to trap the blast and fire it back in any direction, although it cannot contain the positrons for longer than several seconds.

"Sol" WASPS x 7

A small detachable device that could fly around independently and is mentally navigated by the pilot. Each "Sol" WASPS has the following features

WASPS Beam cannon

Each WASPS carries a beam cannon mounted on the front of it with the power of a typical beam rifle.

"Sol" WASPS anti-beam emitter

Beam shield generator

The WASPS of the Enlightened Sovereign could coordinate and create a massive shield capable of protecting battleships from standard weaponry.

* * *

___ORB-02SP "Immortalis" Space Pack_

In space, the Veneficus is equipped with the stronger of it's two backpacks. This backpack also makes the machine look like it has wings except it has two main wings on each side, one in front of the other. Each of these wings mount two 'Luna' WASPS. The features of the "Immortalis" pack are either superior to the "Libertas" pack or the same. Equipping this pack raises Veneficus' height to 24.4m and it's weight to 100.65 metric tons

"Luna" WASPS x 8

Each wing of the Immortalis Veneficus carries two WASPS. These WASPS are capable of detaching from the mobile suit only when the user is in SEED mode and are superior to the DRAGOONs mounted on similar Zaft suits in both speed and agility. Because of this, a greater sense of control is needed, and thus the pilot must be in SEED mode. Each WASPS has several functions however they must return to their place on the Immortalis' wings after a while to recharge

WASPS Beam cannon

Each WASPS carries a beam cannon mounted on the front of it with the power of a typical beam rifle.

"Luna" Beam enhancer emitter

Each WASPS carries a small beam enhancer emitter mounted above the WASPS beam cannon

Type 255BB Beam blade

All eight WASPS are capable of emitting a beam blade. In addition to this, two WASPS can combine together at their engines and form a NAGINATA WASPS

"Magnus Fuga" System

Each of the WASPS are capable of emitting the same particles as the two backpacks of the Veneficus, giving them a comet like tail when in use.

Type-275MC "Obliterate" Mega energy beam cannon x 2

Veneficus' Sky Pack mounts two Mega Energy beam cannons on the thruster portion of the mobile suit, separate of the wings. When activated they swing under the arms of the gundam and extend outwards.

"Cosmos" System

The spikes on the hard points for the wings generate energy wings. Grants the same effect as the "Alas Libertas" and "Magnus Fuga" systems.

* * *

ORB Mass Production Models:

___MVF-M12A Ootsukigata_

******Name: **Ootsukigata

******Model Number: **MVF-M12A

******Unit Type: **Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit

******Developed From:**

MVF-M11C Murasame

******Manufacturer:** Morgenroete

******Overall Height:** 18.2m

******Standard Weight:** 52.7 metric tons

******Power-plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery

******Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

******Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

M2M5D 12.5mm Head-mounted CIWS x 2

M2M5D 12.5mm Wing-mounted CIWS x 4

Type 70J Kai Beam Saber

Type 72 High-energy Beam Gun

High-energy Long-range Beam Cannon

Shield

Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle

* * *

_MVF-W44A Byakko_

**Name:** Byakko

**Model Number: **MVF-W44A

**Unit Type: **Limited Production Transformable Mobile Suit

**Developed From:**

MVF-M11C Murasame

MVF-M11C_AWC Tiger Murasame Custom

**Manufacture:** Morganroate

**Overall Height: **17.82m

**Standard Weight: **49.98 metric tons

**Power-plant: **Ultracompact Energy Battery

**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

M2M5D 12.5mm Head-mounted CIWS x 2

M2M5D 12.5mm Wing-mounted CIWS x 4

Type 72 High-energy Beam Gun

Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle x 2

Type 89 Combined Shield/Beam Fang Generator x 2

Type 66A air-to-air missile "Hayate" x 4

* * *

EA Mass Production Models:

_GAT-04+AQM/E-X09S Noir Windam_

**Name:** Noir Windam

**Model Number: **GAT-04+AQM/E-X09S

**Unit Type:** Limited Production High Mobility Mobile Suit

**Developed from: **

MBF-10+P30QC Strike Noir

**Manufacturer:** Adukurf Mechano-Industries

**Overall Height:** 18.94m

**Standard Weight: **73.91 metric tons

**Power-plant: **Ultracompact Energy Battery

**Accommodation: **Pilot only, cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm automatic CIWS x 4

ES04B Beam Saber x 2

Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator x 2

M9409L Beam Rifle

MR-Q30 "Fragarach" 4 Beam Blade x 2

MAM-M4Q55 Linked Linear Gun x 2

* * *

_GAT-04+AQM/E-M1 Rouge Windam_

**Name:** Rouge Windam

**Model Number:** GAT-04+AQM/E-M1

**Unit Type: **Limited Production All Purpose Mobile Suit

**Developed from: **

MBF-02+P20QX Strike Rouge I.W.S.P.

**Manufacturer:** Adukurf Mechano-Industries

**Overall Height: **18.88m

**Standard Weight: **76.31 metric tons

**Power-plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery

**Accommodation: **Pilot only, cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm automatic CIWS x 4

ES04B Beam Saber x 2

Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator x 2

M9409L Beam Rifle

MAM-M5Q59 Linked Linear Gun

MUN-N12D4 Beam Cannon

"Schwert Gewehr IV" 18.23m Anti-ship Sword


	15. Phase 44: Truth The World of Unknown

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

And now we have the phase which, despite it's chapter name, I am going to give a secondary name. Don't worry, guys, I've been waiting an _awfully _long time to write this, ever since I initially conceived _Gundam SEED: Humanity's Fate!_

**For every KiraxCagalli shipper who felt denied in GS40, and then spat on when KiraxLacus and AthrunxCagalli were to be declared the cannon couples, this installment is dedicated to each and everyone of you, even if we've expressed disagreement in the past =D**

* * *

**Phase 44: ExArchmagus Corrects Fukuda's Dick Move**

Location: Mendel Colony Asteroid Field

Time: Eight Hundred hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

The battleship LHM-BB01 Minerva was currently hiding in the large cluster of man-made debris and asteroid rubble that occupied the area around the Mendel Colony itself, clinging to the surface of one of the larger rocks that was drifting in space with the large, abandoned colony. The truth of the matter was that the ship had arrived at Mendel early last night, and during the time since then, several groups of soldiers were sent to scout around and ensure that the area was not rigged. However, none of these teams ventured into the depths of the old research laboratory, which is exactly where Kira Yamato and Cagalli Yula Attha were headed. Finding no threats of interest, the scouting parties returned, and the Prince and Princess of ORB prepared to leave the vessel in a small shuttle and discover what secrets Oscar Durandal had tipped them off about.

The small, collective bright light from the transports engines gently illuminated the area around it as the shuttle left the Minerva through her starboard side mobile suit catapult, the large black door swinging closed seconds later. From the raised bridge of the vessel, Captain Talia Gladys could only suspend herself near the main window with crossed arms as she observed the shuttle making it's way towards the colonies entrance.

"So now we just sit around and wait... but how long do you think it'll take them?" Arthur Trine questioned, holding a container filled with some sort of liquid as he watched the Captain's backside, and she did nothing to respond. "Ugh... ma'am?" He questioned a few seconds later, and all Captain Gladys could do was give out a very dull murmur.

"Having the potential to swing the flow of battles in an instant, or clear one's ideology and enlighten them, in this day and age, the amount of knowledge that someone has, about themselves, about those around them, and about the world is easily one of the most critical assets a human being could ever obtain. However, it becomes a dangerous tool... whenever they decree that they have enough of it; that they have no need to learn any longer." Talia muttered softly, although her words did reach the rest of the bridge staff scattered throughout it. "We're here so that those two can discover something that was lost to them... something hidden, and something that they deserve to know. That being said, I cannot hope to answer your question, Arthur. For all we know they could find nothing and be back within an hour. On the other hand, there could be a vast storage of lost knowledge there, and it would take at least a day for them to return..."

"Ugh... understood, ma'am." Arthur responded, his Adam's apple jostling a tad behind the skin of his throat.

"Well... they're gone..." Talia commented as the light from the shuttle disappeared into the colony for good. In response the blonde women turned around and lightly kicked the front window of the bridge with her left foot, propelling her towards the back of the room. "Keep the ship at condition yellow for the time being. Things may be peaceful now but our trip wasn't exactly the smoothest it could be." She ordered, taping the button that would summon the elevator.

"Ma'am!" Arthur quickly saluted.

* * *

Inside the Colony itself:

With a semi-rough landing Kira and Cagalli's shuttle touched down inside the deserted area, right in front of the same building where Rau Le Creuset had initially spilled some of the beans to Kira, almost two and a half years ago.

"So... do we actually need to wear these while we're in here? Usual normal suits have never been my style, too cumbersome." Cagalli said as she put on the large helmet of her suit, Kira doing the same.

"Hmm..." Kira looked at the shuttle's control panel for a short moment and shook his head, indicating a negative response. "There's not enough air in here anymore after what happened last war. The centrifuge engines aren't working at full capacity either..." He commented, and Cagalli simply jumped up grabbed the roof of the shuttle, but felt herself getting pulled down afterwords. "Well, there is gravity just not as much of it as a normal colony."

"At least we won't be floating around all over the place." The golden haired girl looked at the oddly shaped building, it's form in the fashion of a giant main cylinder and several smaller cylinders jetting out of it. "Come on, this place is giving me the creeps already if it's just us two, let's go." She stated, walking towards the exit and picking up a large, sealed bag off of one of the racks near the back. "Grr... hopefully there's air somewhere inside. Wish I could have used my pilot's uniform..." She complained.

"Hehe..." Kira grabbed another large bag and swung it over his shoulder. Although these two sacks looked like they would be rather heavy and only slow one down, it must be remembered that the gravity inside the colony was significantly diminished. If anything, they would help the twins keep their feet on the ground due to the extra weight. "So, would calling that suit the equivalent of a space-dress be an accurate assessment?" He questioned with a grin, and she darted a serious look into his face.

"Don't push it." She warned, opening the main hatch of the shuttle. "But yeah, this is basically a dress with a helmet from how it feels..."

"... and I know how much you hate dresses..." Kira added.

"So we've practically got all the supplies we could want in these two bags, right? No problems?" Cagalli asked.

"Yeah, extra oxygen, but if we can't find an airtight chamber inside there, we'll have to come back to the shuttle to eat."

"Lets _not _hope this takes that long. We just had a snack before we left, Haumae forbid we need to spend several hours in there..." Cagalli rolled her eyes as the pair left the shuttle and began to walk towards the entrance to the genetics research lab, slowly but surely.

* * *

Daedalus Lunar Base:

The Logos Leader Lord Djibril sat in the command seat for the base's control room with his legs crossed and a smug expression lining his face. On the main monitor several meters ahead of him, a complex, shifting diagram of a large cylindrical device was being displayed, with a power indicator that was slowly but surely rising towards full.

"Oh... it'll all be over soon enough... this damned war will never end until they are all done with... and in order to protect, I'll be more than willing to pull the trigger." Djibril muttered to himself, while one of the higher ranking officers of the base approached him.

"Sir, we're receiving a message from Copernicus. It's Lord Yuna Roma Seiran."

"Hmm? Is the ORB Fleet having difficulties launching?"

"No sir, but he's requesting a video audience will you."

"Put him through." Djibril snapped his right fingers in a nonchalant manner, and seconds later, an image of a certain purple haired Prince appeared on the main monitor. "Well, are your forces prepared to take off? There's an incredibly pivotal task at hand for you and your troops, you know that?" Djibril questioned.

"Yes, sir. The ORB Fleet is making it's final preparations as we speak. Once we launch we'll meet up with Gounod and take her to the assigned coordinates, just in time for you to pull the trigger!" Yuna exclaimed, making a crude thumbs up motion as his head closed in on the camera a little.

"Excellent." Djibril clasped his hands together. "I trust the TAOP-001SN made it's way into your hands as promised? Once the first song is played, all of Zaft's remaining forces will be eager and bloodthirsty... that will your line of defense." Djibril informs.

"Oh yes, I'm already aware of how they'll be coming out of the walls to get us once we fire the first round but don't worry, I'll... ugh, handle everything. Don't you worry, Lord Djibril. Just sit tight...and wait."

"And then we'll bask in the outcome. In the future I'll propose a toast... to a Blue and Pure Earth sphere. Now. And. Forever." Djibril formed a ticked off expression as the line was cut. "God dammit he's an annoying pretty boy if I say the least... at least the officers from ORB who are in that fleet are skilled enough to pull this off should his incompetence get in the way which it will..." Djibril commented in a quiet, low voice that was only audible to him.

"Sir?" The base commander turned to Djibril.

"At least that fleet is ignorant of the stance it's nation has taken...no thanks to my efforts. 'I'll be taking my shuttle now to Arzachel, if you'll get it ready'." Djibril said with a slight grin, and the officer grinned back.

"Right away, sir. The preparations for it's departure have just launched."

"Good, hopefully we won't encounter any trouble along the way. I'm carrying some very valuable data with me back to Arzachel." Djibril winked with both the confidence and charisma of a snake oil salesman, exiting the room.

* * *

Minerva hanger bay:

The mood inside the armored vessel's vast, cold heart was rather dim and uninteresting. Besides the distant echoes of engineers working about and the sparse glimmers of light from their tools way off in the distance, the area was relatively dead. The fact that the lead mobile suits in the hanger bay; the four ORB-0x gundams, were in a state of phase shift down, and thus were colored in indifferent, gloomy tones of gray, light gray, dark gray, slightly darker gray, and white, wasn't helping that either. However, that didn't bother one of ORB's Ace pilots, Ensign Shinn Asuka, as he gradually drifted across the hanger bay, from stern to bow, hovering above one of the higher levels of the bay's balcony.

The red eyed, black haired teen held a somber and unchanging body language as he looked onto the small scene that belonged to his deceased sister's flamingo colored cell phone, flipping through the images over and over as a means to pass the time. With each passing, identical click of it's downward arrow key the Judicator's pilot raced back and fourth through the girl's photo album, over, and over. He had seen these pictures countless times before but they were never able to lose their touch; they succeeded in keeping his attention fixed. However, every so often he would blink with a slightly audacity in his eyes when he passed a certain photograph.

"I never really did pay much attention to girls besides staring at the parts that would amuse my developing, teenaged psyche, Mayu. Although, it's not hard to believe why you saw the Princess as your idol." Shinn looked up to the roof, gazing into it's flat, dark metal surface as if he wasn't even there. "If you were here... right now, would you believe your older brother, if he told you that he managed to kiss that girl... not once, but three times?" The semi-pale tone of his skin retreated as a light shade of blushing pink invaded his cheeks while the tissue below them was pushed away from the extending boundaries of his lips. He was emitting an excited laugh, although his decibel level was incredibly low. "Well, you would probably accuse me of cheating it, and that she didn't mean for it to happen at all, and for the first two, you would be right. However, the third time... the third time it was all her when it came down to it..." Shinn looked back down at the phone, and the image of Cagalli that he had also seen countless times beyond measure.

Then, with a slight tilt of his head muscles, he looked out into the wide open hanger bay to his right. Occupying the front row of mobile suits, the ORB-01 Sovereign and ORB-02 Veneficus stood, solidly locked into place my the mechanisms meant to bind them during their time of rest and repair. He then held up Mayu's phone next to the Sovereign's head, and clicked a button to wake the device up, for it's screen had dimmed in the meantime. In all honesty, he thought the suit's head unit was a perfect match for Cagalli. No, it didn't have a Lioness' mane, but the way it's face mask was blank, and it's single v-fin stuck up into the air at an angle, alongside it's pair of 'elf ears' on the side of it's head... it seemed almost perfect sometimes... like the helmet of a great leader who would charge their soldiers into battle. Not flamboyant enough to show off like a peacock, but holding enough of it's own distinctiveness to express it's presence to all on the battlefield, warning them that a commanding aura was there, and all who challenged it would fall.

There was also the gundam's brother unit, the Veneficus. Unlike the Sovereign this unit's face mask was not blank, but it had two bent upwards vents on it's face, as well as two vertical bars bordering them. The Impulse, the Strike, and the Freedom... each of them had those vents on it's face, and they all belonged to either Shinn or Kira in their earlier battles, when they were learning and getting better, but with the way the Veneficus' was shaped, it was almost symbolic of a battle hardened veteran who had his 'innocence of war' taken from him against his will, but even in the wake of that nightmare, did not falter in his methods and objectives, even to this day. He knew what he wanted to protect, and he would fight for that to the bitter end, should it come down to it.

"However... neither of them are fighting and neither of them are leading... they are doing something completely different. They are coming out of their comfort zone to discover what they were 'supposedly meant to be'. Durandal wants us all to be what we were meant to be, to not have our experiences be the pivotal decision maker on what we shall do... rather, he wishes to put that decision not in our hands... but in the hands of nature. It sounds barbaric to some, but then again, when nature wants something... she gets it, simple as that..." Shinn went on to himself, hearing something off in the distance, and lowering the phone with Cagalli's image in it, only to have it replaced with the look of another blonde.

"Shinn, there you are!" Stella cheered, flowing through the air after him, speaking in a childish voice as he blushed lightly, unprepared for her sudden appearance. Come to think of it, she seemed to be heading towards him in a manner that wasn't exactly controlled. To him that was expected, given the amount of experience she had in space. He usually had to guide her around the ship bit by bit.

"Ugh, Stella!" He adjusted himself so that he was standing up on the ground and reached out with his left hand, grabbing the Extended's left shoulder and pulling her in, preventing her from crashing into the wall on a collision course.

"Thanks!" She applauded, although it seemed she was in a hurry. "Now, do you know where the Captain is?" She tilted her head to the left slightly.

"No... not a clue, actually." Shinn admitted, trying to control the ever growing blush on his face. "Why, what's up?" His chest began to warm up as if happiness incarnate was invading his lungs from her very presence.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask the Captain if I could take out one of the shuttles for the time being... go and check on em!" Stella explained enthusiastically. "I guess I'll have to search." She tried to rush ahead, but he caught her by the right sleeve and stopped her dead.

"Hang on!" Shinn raised his voice a tad. "If I know Captain Gladys correctly she's probably gone back to her cabin now and doesn't want to be bothered unless it's important."

"OH!" She fought to get away.  
"And besides... it hasn't even been an hour yet since Kira and Cagalli left. Why are you so worried?" Shinn asked and Stella stopped struggling and looked to the ground. Well, after all, the Minerva was **supposedly** all alone in an abandoned location with no backup and nobody nearby, while the Head of State of the nation she now operated under, as well as her mobile suit commander were off on their own, scheduled to return at a practically unknown time. Needless to say, it was reasonable to be worried.

"Well... I just don't know. Maybe they need my help with some kind of machine out there."

"Kira's a skilled hacker in his own right." Shinn answered back, and Stella lowered her head.

"It's just so gloomy out here!" She pouted. "And boring... I want to see... what they're going to see! You know... right? Besides, I'm sure the Captain..." She tried to pull away again but like before, he held on.

"Stella..." He spoke in a somewhat annoyed, but caring voice, dumping the phone back into his pocket and digging for something else, eventually pulling out the glowing ring that, according to Stella, belonged to the 'mother' of Auel Neider.

"Shinn..." She spoke, clearly annoyed at the very sight of the metallic, gemmed loop.

"You stay here... or I keep this." He notified in a chilled, piercing, adamant voice, the gaze of his ruby eyes penetrating into her amethyst ones. At the same time the Extended girl could not help but be overwhelmed by memories... of Auel, Sting, of her training... to every extend. It was horrific, terrifying, and something that no child should ever have to experience, ever. Yet, during all those years, especially in her childhood, there were a handful of lights that kept her and her pair of 'brothers' going. The brightest of these lights was easily _that women_, who Auel referred to as 'mother'. This was the last reminder of her that they had, and despite everything else... she wanted to get her hands on it. Sure, she would laugh about it _when it wasn't threatened_ but now... no. She had to submit, but not without question.

"Ooh... fine, but why can't you mind your own business?" She stomped on the ground like a little girl about to burst into a full-blown tantrum.

"My business..." He stored the ring back into his pocket, knowing that she was tamed now. He also let go of her, sensing no resisting force from her body. "If I remember correctly, didn't Kira tell us that when those two went in there... they meant to go it alone?"

"Alone..."

"By themselves..." Shinn leaned in a bit. "While both of us remained on the ship." He mentioned.

"Huh... I know..." She worried.

"They did give us a time when we would hear from them... either by their return or by a message from their shuttle. Besides... even if you're worried about Cagalli..." In image of the Ultimate Coordinator flashed in Shinn's mind. "Well she's in good hands right now, I _know _that." He snickered.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Stella sighed, calming down significantly. "I just feel so... can't put my finger on it... just... I don't feel comfortable! But at least... I feel safe right now... right here... with.. you-" She moaned, her face trying to come closer to his own.

"I know what you're saying, but on the other hand, at least we both know we're safe right now, and that we have some time to spend in peace... doing what we want with little worry, right?" He questioned in a gentle and genuinely sincere voice, while she nodded back, their heads closing in on each other's at a slow, slow speed, closing their eyelids shut... as if the two were unconsciously preparing themselves for something to come... and then... it _almost _happened.

Out of the blue though, from the other side of the hanger bay, a certain pair of engineers came flying in at Shinn and Stella, gripping a hold of the guide rails and coming to a halt near them.

"Oh... Vino! Yolan!" Stella cheered, pulling back, while Shinn mentally growled a little.

"Hey Stella!" Vino sparked with energy, turning to the male pilot for a second. "Oh, hello, Shinn." He greeted, except this time his speech was energized to an exponentially weakened degree.

"Hello you two..." Shinn almost seemed to yawn, if not for the hint of mounting anger... and... jealously that was rising in his body. "So... what are you guys doing?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes as Stella moved a tad further away from him and a tad closer to them.

"We just finished cleaning up and putting the last scouting shuttle in place. We were about to go and watch the footage from the fight with the Earth Alliance a few days ago, but we thought it would be better if we asked Stella to come with us and watch it. We're thinking of perhaps asking phoning up Abbey too!" Yolan announced.

"Is that so?" Stella questioned with curiosity. After all, ever since she had been placed on the Minerva under Durandal's orders to please Shinn, a slight friendship had bloomed between her and the two engineers.

"Yeah, we know that you experienced those fights... but it would be nice to see exactly what you were doing back then. Those machines were tougher then the average Earth Forces suits, right?"

"Yeah..." Stella softly spoke, and Shinn clenched his fists a little. "Well, if there's nothing else to do, I guess I'll give it a shot. You guys were busy after those two battles repairing of damaged machines and preparing the shuttles for launch, right?"

"I'll bet." Shinn crossed his arms roughly while the other three remained oblivious to him, the pair of workers nodding in response to Stella's question.

"Fine." She agreed and jumped up into the air slightly. "Lead the way."

"Alright!" Vino elated, taking off with Yolan and Stella. In the meantime, the Extended turned around and saw that Shinn was walking away towards the bay's exit, the distance between the two of them growing by the second.

"Shinn!" She shouted out. "Aren't you coming?" All he did was give off a 'no' nod.

"Nah." The red eyed coordinator turned around. "I'll find something to do in the meantime." His bitter eyes rolled above reddened cheeks.

"Oh... okay..." Stella replied politely, drifting into the distance, leaving him. 'Shinn...'

* * *

Location: Mendel Asteroid Field

Time: Nine hundred hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

Many small meteors danced a calm waltz throughout the field, rolling around, spinning around, and generally just floating all over the place like the inanimate objects that they were. Some of these rocks were situation in the location above the Minerva herself, the sleeping vessel barely visible from behind it's cover of rubble, but nevertheless, capable of being noticed. Then, out of nowhere, one the medium-sized meteors, which was roughly the size of an Euclid mobile armor, was shifted from it's path, deflected from right... to left. It was as if an invisible force or object struck it and bent it's path. A small, incredibly difficult to see and take note of, distortion in space appeared, making itself noticeable as took note of the Minerva's location, and then proceeded to take cover behind a rather large dirt brown asteroid, halting as it disappeared from the vessel's line of sight, cutting any sign that it was emitting heat signatures of any type. A small blade of pink beam light burst from the invisible aberration, digging into the asteroid as the blur seemed to cease, shifting and forming into something else as colors of dark purple and rich orange replaced what would otherwise be an undetectable cloak.

"Just a few moments... a few moments... and then I'll be able to go home free." The voice of FAITH Special Forces pilot Heine Westenfluss spoke quietly and cautiously from the Assassin's cockpit while kept his machine stationary and stared onto one of his gauges down below, that would measure how long it would take for his Mirage Colloid to come back online. "This is one occasion where the original stealth system would have been preferable..." He muttered silently as a light on his console beeped back on. "Good..." He grinned, pressing a key on his controls as several panels on the Assassin, including the shoulders, legs and other places opened up and activated the Mirage Colloid system, sheathing the gundam once more in a layer of microscopic, electromagnetic radiation wave bending particles. Withdrawing his 'dagger' which had been temporarily re-purposed as an anchor, Heine ignited his thrusters and burst away from the area with a smug look of satisfaction, knowing that the crew of the Minerva knew nothing of what had just transpired.

* * *

As the great white and red vessel known as the Archangel approached the edge of the debris field surrounding Mendel, it's engines flared up in short, well-timed spurts, gingerly pushing the ship forward and greatly minimizing the chance that it might be detected by any thermal radar. In the meantime her port side hanger bay door swung open and the invisible blur made itself visible while allowing itself to be swallowed by the Archangel.

"So you're back, Heine. With good news, I trust." Kenden Westenfluss stood up from the Chair in his cabin and looked into her tall son's eyes expectantly.

"Yes, father. The data has been routed directly to the ship's database." Heine explained, gesturing towards Kendan's computer terminal. Grinning with success, the Admiral sat back down and typed away for a few moments, adjusting his glasses as he did. The man's eyes began to 'glow' in a sense as the information he was seeking showed up: The exactly location where the Minerva was hiding in the Mendel Colony Asteroid Cluster.

"Excellent... now let me just cross these coordinates with... our lead." He stated with toxicity, his smile growing much more once he did. "Ahh... right where she was supposed to be. So this confirms that ORB decided to take the Minerva as its own... a tactically sound decision, I'll admit. You've done well, my son."

"Thank you, father." Heine nodded silently with his hands behind his back.

"Now... we must wait for... for our que." He laid back in his seat, brimming with accomplishment.

"If I may ask... why are we waiting?" He questioned while a figure entered the room unnoticed by father and son. "Why couldn't I just rush in and perform a hit and run? It's perfectly within my abilities..."

"Chairman's orders." The voice of the unknown figure, now known to be Rey Za Burrel, stated with quick execution.

"What? Don't you know how to knock first?" Kendan nearly fell out of his chair, as he turned to the blonde, the look of man who was utterly surprised plastered harshly on his face.

"The door was open, Admiral." Rey stated, pausing for a second as neither Heine nor Kendan spoke up, to insulted to say a word. "So from what I hear we've managed to get a hold of the ORB Forces vessel, correct?"

"Correct..." Kendan angled his head to the side in a crude, slick, almost rude manner.

"Good. As for Heine's question: We're to wait until we receive confirmation from the Lilhissir Team. Then we can move in and take out that vessel of useless traitors." Rey stated in his detached, emotionless tone. "And not until then... those orders come directly from Chairman Durandal and the Supreme Council, and are not to be violated under any circumstances, FAITH status or not." He turned around and started to walk towards the exit of the room, making purposeful eye contact with the Admiral and outright _glaring _into his eyes in the process, a noise similar to the sound a container of loose gum would make radiating out from his left pocket.

"Eh em..." Kendan made a quick signal with his left hand, and in response Heine walked over and pressed the button that would close the door. "Sometimes... he's lucky that the Chairman keeps tabs on him... otherwise." Kendan made a cruel, harsh scowl, bashing both of his palms together, making a loud, brutal, and violet noise.

"Rey..." Heine whispered.

"He's been acting different these past few weeks, correct?" Kendan got up again and looked his son in the eye.

"Yes..."

"Durandal 'warned' me earlier." Kendan shifted his gaze back and forth a little. "It was actually Rey who initially gave me the information necessary to track down the Minerva... I had to go through him first of all."

"Chairman places a high amount of trust in him, from what I understand. There must be something involving their past histories together... or their families." Heine placed a right first finger on his lip.

"Aye..." Kendan groaned. "But it's nothing I'd ever get involving in, personally. Waste of time for someone like me."

"Well, the Chairman's a smart man, and an excellent leader. I'm positive he knows what he's doing, unlike most Heads of State these days." Heine commented, stepping back a little as if he meant to leave the room soon enough.

"True... true. Anyway, get some rest. I sent you out early to check out the area a head of time while everyone stayed here. You deserve a little nap, Heine, considering we don't have any idea when we'll get the signal to fall in." Kendan explained.

"Sir!" Heine saluted with a smile, opened the door, and left. Kendan repeated the smile and soldiers salute while his child departed, making his way back to his desk and holding down one of the keys on his terminal.

"Have the ship land on one of the outer asteroids for the time being. Do not... I repeat, DO NOT go within thirty five kilometers of the reported coordinates Heine brought in, is that clear?" Kendan asked.

"Crystal, sir." The voice on the other end answered, pleasing the Admiral and allowing him to hang up and cross his arms while the wait began.

* * *

Back with Kira and Cagalli:

At a slow and steady pace the two of them were skulking through the dark hallways of the building, clinging to each other like a pair of magnets, each ready armed with a gun strapped to their legs and a lit flashlight in hand. Currently, they had managed to check a few rooms on the first floor, trying to make it simple and find an easy and quick victory, but there was none to be found. Now they were making their way towards one of the rooms where Kira had been in the past, although he didn't quite realize it yet. To Cagalli, this place was as alien as it could get. Although Kira didn't remember much of this location and even then he only traversed a small portion of it, he tried his best to play as guide for the two of them on where to go, opening doors with his hacking skills, while Cagalli kept peeled eyes, looking for anything and everything out of the ordinary. Every so often they would find a journal or some sort of book, and although those logs described the extent of madness that went on in this facility, they had yet to find anything with the words 'Artificial Womb', 'Ultimate Coordinator', 'Kira', 'Cagalli', or 'Hibiki' in them. Well, for the final word they had found a few mentions of his name, but nothing significant. Still, at the same time, as the brunette punched a button on one of the door's, Cagalli could not help but analyze the look on her face.

"This room... were you here before?" She looked at him, clearly worried and concerned, although still displaying that genuine Attha confidence.

"I... I don't know... maybe..." Kira mumbled while the great, white metal doors swung open and revealed their contents. With a tip and a tap, the twins progressed on. The lights were still on in this chamber, and from what Cagalli could see, there was a large number of liquid filled tanks, each holding a single object inside them, but she could not tell what it was... not until she sped on ahead to take a close look, held herself against one of the rail, and stared inside. Then... she nearly screamed...

"OH MY... BY HAUMAE WHAT IS THIS PLACE!? WHAT IS IT?!" She questioned, frightened and shocked.

"Cagalli!" Kira held out it's right hand, but his sister did not seem to react. Instead, she scanned the rest of the rooms, looking for the other containers, to confirm the truth in her eyes.

"Who would do such a thing? AND TO SO MANY?" She cried out, for sitting in each of the large, liquid filled containers, was a dead human fetus, linked by the umbilical cord towards the bottom of the container.

"CAGALLI!" Kira took a stand and quickly rushed onwards, wrapping his arms around the Lioness and pulling her in. She was shocked and disturbed, yes, but she wasn't crying, and she wasn't outright panicking. No, she was to strong for that. "Cagalli... are you alright?" He locked violet eyes to golden ones from between their normal suits.

"Fine... I'm fine..." She stabilized, calming down a little and breathing in deeply. "It's just... goodness... how could something like this... go on... be allowed? Were these... were they used as test subjects? Is that it? Test subjects that were thrown aside once their usefulness had expended itself?" She questioned, and as Kira looked at her, a single sentence, trapped in the back of his mind, burst forward into his consciousness.

"_For that result, a very large number of your siblings were sacrificed." _

"You bastard..." Kira's eyes twitched a little, as if the voice of Rau Le Creuset was mentally torturing him from beyond the grave. "You..."

"Kira!" Cagalli spoke out, but he did nothing. "KIRA!" She yelled out, and in an instant, in response to her voice, Kira Yamato snapped back. "Kira..." She frowned and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Cagalli..." He replied, turning away for a second and looking at the jars off in the distance. "I believe... I believe..." He swallowed. "You were dead on correct... in what you said." A tear seemed to roll down his left side, and then he turned back to her, and she could only sigh.

"In one of those books... it said... 'Our cause is just, for the urge to make things better has always driven progress and then that is what brings about happiness...' I couldn't believe it but it was a quote from our supposedly real father, Ulen Hibiki, but I can't help but disagree with him. Is it truly worth it? Is that happiness worth fighting for if what you're trying to achieve must cost so much? If so many will never be able to achieve it? Do we really need to sacrifice this many just to race towards one finish line in an endless chain... only to eventually thirst again for progress? Like revenge, ambition has no limits, but why can't we... act within the bounds of what we have now, slowly peddle along knowing that we will pass each checkpoint in due time, and without resorting to such driven measures? Seriously, _I cannot _imagine if this location was outright exposed while it was in use... and the chaos that would have followed suit." She shook her head disapprovingly.

"The very thought of it..." Kira shook in agreement, and Cagalli looked him in the eyes again, before standing up straight.

"Are you ready, because I am?" She asked normally. "We came here to look for something, and I'm not going to let some simple, harmless horrors like this deter us from our path. Now, are you with me?" She questioned sternly, sticking her right hand forward as if to help him up. With a smile, Kira graciously took her hand and found himself back on the bottoms of his two feet with straight legs. Much to his surprise though, Cagalli followed this up by lunging into him and fiercely embracing the brunette, even though their normal suits he could feel her warmth and sense of strength. He felt happy, right then and there. A light, in all this darkness.

"Cagalli..." He hugged her back with equal strength, and although he couldn't see inside her own normal suit, he could tell that she was crying, if just a tad.

"Kira..." She moaned. "I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for-"

"LET ME FINISH!" She yelled over him with great emotion, some tears shaking from her face and then slowly descending to the bottom of her helmet. "Alright! I'm sorry for bringing you all the way out here, Kira. You may have agreed with me before to come all this way, but now that we're here and you can see all these things again, I'm sure the memories may be returning, and I'm sure you're uncomfortable because of that. After all, you just told me stories... you never let me see into that part of your mind while we were in SEED mode..." She gave of a very light chuckle. "I guess you never wanted me to see those horrors... you wanted to protect me..."

"But now..." He started to continue. "What you're saying is that even though I may have agreed to come here before, now that I'm here, I might be having second thoughts? I may be regretting this? For although I saw this all once before, I would never want to be here again... and seeing it for a second time..."

"Yes, exactly." She finished, as if they were a pair of birds chirping in perfect tune with each other. Then, he pulled back, and locked eyes with her again.

"It's alright, Cagalli, if I'm with you. I would never think of coming back here by myself, or with anyone... Shinn, even Stella... but with you... for you... I'll do just about anything." He cracked a lovely smile, and she did the same, both of their helmets filled with some tears messing up the windows. "I'll be here with you till its all over, and that is a promise, Cagalli!" He stated, feeling some confidence return to them both simultaneously.

"Thank you, Kira. Now, let's go."

"Agreed..." And the two gathered up their things and continued further into the labyrinth together, although separated by their painful asymptote of blood...

* * *

Location: Armory One, Lagrange Point 4

Time: One thousand hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

Sitting in Armory One, in practically the same seats as Cagalli and Chairman Durandal did during ORB's inspection just before the Second War broke out, Lacus Clyne, Songstress of the PLANTs, sat alongside the same black haired Chairman.

"I understand your concern, Miss Lacus, and I appreciate your request to see me in person in order discuss these matters, but nevertheless..." Durandal stuck up both his hands as if he had nothing to say. "What is it that you are asking of me?"

"Well, your own, personal stance on the issue, right now, Chairman! Obviously!" Lacus stated. "I wanted to wait until now so I could talk with you in person and alone for this. After all, when you first asked me if I wanted to stand by your side during this conflict when you thought it was on it's way... we were like this. Now, I find it only fitting, to be honest." Lacus explained, taking a brief pause. "You know that in the wake of Operation Justice that foul man... Yanata Ema Seiran made an announcement to the world, and I could not help but 'correct' him, for he was so full of lies... However, Cagalli came on, right then and there. How did you feel when that happened, Chairman Durandal?" Lacus requested, the very aura around her body not so much one of suspicion, but of doubt that she wished to wash herself of, but would not allow it to be easily scrubbed away. The golden eyed man leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath in.

"I felt surprised, for one, considering how little we knew about that women's whereabouts in the wake of Operation Angel Capture. However, I was a bit taken when she just cut you off like that. It's rather rude, even for a person of her stature, to perform an action such as that."

"**Very!**"

"Yes, very." Durandal accepted. "However, it must be noted that you stepped onto the screen first, cutting off the late Prime Minister Yanata Ema." He placed his right hands over his lower face but gave himself room to speak, raising one eyebrow as if he was deep in thought. "However, I do not think that it was the Princess' intentions to directly cut you off... once she appeared, she signaled someone in the background... if that's the case, then I would actually wager that her intentions were to stop the broadcast made by the Prime Minister as a way to come forth to her people. In either case, what's done is done, and there is mud being slung on all fronts at all of us... whether it be the PLANTs, Earth Alliance, or ORB itself. You know this, and you know the stance we're taking against ORB right now, right?" He leaned forward again.

"Right." Lacus gave a slight nod in such a serious way that it would kill if it could. "You know how I feel about ORB right now, even in the wake of Operation Justice and the actions taken by both sides, correct?" She asked, looking deep into his perplexing eyes but ending up unshaken by them in the least.

"Refresh me, if you would, my great songstress. After all, you were an ally of that nation in the past... you lived there for a while."

"And then I returned back to my home." She swiftly cut him off. "Let me just say right now that I'm not happy about the discovery of Ethan Rulski and what you've been doing with him... however, if it truly was my father who assigned him to that task many years ago then I can forgive you." She took her eyes off of him and stretch out her left and spread it's long, beautiful, decorated nails. "It seems that in this time and day, even when we confront those who we find ourselves the closest to, there are still secrets hidden. However, know right now you still have my full support, Chairman Durandal. The world we live in is changing for the worst and in this day and age the blade of light is but a button press away from striking down millions of innocents. I myself find this completely unacceptable."

"As do I." Durandal linked his fingers together and agreed wholeheartedly.

"It seems that if anyone ever wants to achieve anything of real value in this world, all they must do is decide what it is they want... and then just reach out and take it, no matter what means or cost." She stung forth with her left and grasped the air in a swift motion. "People... human monsters like Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael, Lord Djibril, and their fiendish friends know this well."

"So do you. All one has to do is look at your actions during the last war. Disarming the Zala Administration of both the Freedom and Eternal were bold moves, and even though I am the leader of the nation that built them, I will agree that it was for the better. Methods of preventing or inhibiting genocide are _always _justified." Durandal spoke in a cunning, sharp tone, grinning at Lacus just a little _too much._

"Yes, I know it very well... Chairman. However, ORB does not, but you do... that is why I've decisively chosen which side to cheer for, even if it is with my voice, no matter how many or how little hearts it brings to peace." Durandal placed his right cheek on his palm as if he was 'admiring' her words. "Despite the incident with Admiral Kendan Westenfluss, we had made it very clear that our goal was to bring those 'merchants of death' down for good. Yes, ORB stood in our way. Yes, one of it's Princes made a phoney, transparent excuse to drive us off. Yes, they tried to deflect our arguments with talks of their own sovereignty and right to self-determination but I don't really think any of that actually matters when you're dealing with a man like Djibril. Opportunity presented itself and we, in the PLANTs, took hold of it, and held onto it... that's something to be proud of... it's one of the most honorable things to be proud of as a human being." Lacus stated, relaxing back a little.

"Indeed... now, I received a message about... a very important development. However, I kept it on hold so I could speak to you, so now, if you'll allow me a moment." Durandal leaned over and picked up a phone, dialed a number, and waited until he got someone on the other end. However, Lacus could easily hear what he was saying. "Yes. You can't tell me right now? Fine the, I'll be on my way." Durandal spat out his last sentence in a voice that was very unusual, and Lacus' coordinator ears seemed to twitch at the very sound of it.

"What was that...?" She asked, and he simply got up.

"If you wish, you may come with me, because according to the Rohash Team, Lord Djibril has just been killed."

"WHAT?" Lacus' eyes popped open, and she immediately _jumped _from her seat and hastily followed the tall man.

* * *

Five minutes later, on board one of the elevators that leads up Armory One's main shaft.

Chairman Durandal, Lacus, as well as several high ranking Zaft purple suits were occupying one of the elevators as they ascended to the center of the hourglass shaped colony.

"Are you absolutely sure that his death was confirmed? We must be positive about this, or else." Durandal demanded with mighty authority.

"Or else?" Lacus questioned.

"I dare not even imagine..." Durandal shifted towards her and sighed, as several of the officers worked away at information pads.

"Sir, the full report from Commander Lyle Rohash states that his team intercepted a few key transmissions from a small fleet of Earth Alliance vessels, en route from Daedalus to Arzachel. One of those transmissions clearly stated that Lord Djibril was in fact on board and preparing to have a meeting with the President of the Atlantic Federation. Before they engaged the Alliance, a single shuttle was reported to have quickly traveled from one Agamemnon-class carrier to a Nelson-class battleship. When they intercepted the small fleet, that Nelson-class, alongside with two Drake-class escorts, tried to break off on their own and make a rush towards Arzachel at maximum thrust while reinforcements from that base were meant to rendezvous and secure them. However, several DOM Troopers and GOUFs managed to neutralize the three vessels before that happened." One of the men read information off of the pad and interpreted it. Following that, the entire area was quiet, and not a single sound came from anyone at all. Durandal thought to himself, putting on the mask of a skeptic, so to say. Lacus followed suit. After about forty seconds of no talking though, the Chairman spoke up.

"So... he's dead then. Our new models seemed to have served their purpose well..." The Chairman stated.

"Well... I think we can all breath a little easier then... agreed?" Lacus asked, all eyes attracted to her for the moment.

"Yes... with Djibril dead, every coordinator can now get a good night's sleep from here on end." Durandal replied.

"Chairman... there's more." The speaking officer stated. "During this operation, they managed to recover a 'black box' of sorts from the debris of one of the ships. From the messages they intercepted between the Alliance forces... ugh... this box contains some top secret information... stolen from the ORB Union."

"From ORB?" Durandal raised an eyebrow.

"ORB?" Lacus followed suit.

"Indeed, Mr. Chairman. We've ordered the Rohash Team to bring that information to the Mess-"

"No!" Durandal interrupted him, raising his right arm horizontally. "Have them intercept the Eternal on it's course and bring the box directly to me, after they scan it for any sort of malware program... or something of the sorts."

"The Eternal?" Lacus thrust her head forward a little and questioned in confusion.

"Yes, why do you think I'm headed towards the space port?" Durandal gazed into her. "I'll be leaving in it as soon as possible... there's some business that needs to be taken care of and I need to be there in person, if you don't mind. Besides, isn't your shuttle back to Aprilius waiting for you?" He explained.

"Not at all, Chairman Durandal. However... would you mind if I tagged along? Cancel my shuttle... I don't care!" Lacus requested, and Durandal seemed to lose her right then and there.

"And... why would you wish to do something like that, Miss Lacus?"

"Because... with Lord Djibril defeated, don't you think it's the perfect time for the 'grand unveiling'?" At those two words, every officer on the elevator seemed to look around to each other and make eye contact for a split second if not more. "Would not be appropriate that I be there to announce it to the world by your side... after all, I've been with you since this began, through and through." Lacus explained, and from the look on her face, Durandal knew that Lacus would not be denied something like this... not without a fight and the chance of raising suspicions... suspicions that he wished never would exist. He knew that with Lacus, in a situation like this, he had to appease her.

"Oh yes, who I am to deny the Goddess of Peace herself the chance to usher into this world a new era of war-less paradise, Miss Lacus? Yes, you may come along then... I see no issue why you cannot join me. Its only unfortunate that your fiance cannot as well."

"Thank you, Chairman. I'm sure my lovely Athrun will understand." Sated, Lacus gave off the happy go lucky smile of a pop singer. In the meantime, Durandal turned to face another officer and rolled his eyes in slight annoyance.

* * *

For one final time... the Mendel Colony interior with Kira and Cagalli:

After the two of them had their little talk inside the room that held many failed experiments of the Ultimate Coordinator project, they had continued onwards, and even in the room where Rau spilled the beans to Mwu La Flaga and Kira all those years ago... there was nothing new to be found. With things looking a little more hopeless, Kira suggested that the two of them make their way towards the _basement _of the facility, where he suspected that the main data core with all recorded information would be stored. With that, the Prince and Princess carefully descended down the steps of the complex with their flashlights in hand. It had to be at least three feet underground when they finally hit the level where no more downward stairs could be found, and despite the colonies condition, some of the old lights were still functional, so they could confirm that for the truth. Now, before the two of them were two doors on either side... one of them was wide open and by quick inspection, was revealed to be a facilities room and therefore nothing of value... but the other one.

"It's locked... or something dammit!" Cagalli growled from behind her helmet as she stared at the opening device of the room.

"Is it?" Kira got in closer and looked at the keypad, which was still functional, although it's lights were rather dim. Analyzing it's look, the Ultimate Coordinator deemed his twin's words to be true, but for a rather odd reason. "Yes it is... but that's because this room is an airlock."

"An airlock? Does that mean... on the other side we can take these damn things off, at least for a bit?!"

"Maybe... we'll have to check on the inside. I don't actually believe this is a tricky lock though. It's probably more or less meant to prevent someone from accidentally opening it. Should be simple... give me a minute." Kira leaned forward a bit and began to mess away at the device.

"But even if the database for this entire place... why would they have an airlock between it and the outside?" Cagalli asked with raised, wanting arms.

"We're about to find out." Kira muttered as he quickly unplugged some sort of cord, reattached it elsewhere and then slammed the panel back into place, a weak affirmative 'beeping' noise sounding from it's speaker as the door opened.

"That seemed too easy..." Cagalli crossed her arms.

"Only because I used to practice on locks like these back in Heliopolis... they are outdated by a few decades at least."

"Oh, sure." Cagalli puffed and rolled her eyes as the two of them entered the airlock and Kira closed the door behind them, initiating the process to pressurize them with the other side of the door. They could feel the additional air being pumped in and before too long Kira was already eying his gauge to see if the quality was up to snuff.

"I think... we're in luck." He stated as the door to the other side opened up automatically with a light, crude, rusty noise.

"Well... depends on whats inside." Cagalli swallowed with an audible gulp as Kira led the way inside of the interior room. The dark feeling of loneliness and abandon was as ever present in this room as it was in any other room, but unlike all the others... there was something a bit off. No, it was not a feeling of forbidding but rather... the every essence of a mystery itself felt at home in this chamber. In reality, it was actually a little large, almost comparable to the Minerva's bridge herself. The place was still completely dark, and felt very eerie in it's nature, but a quick light switch flick from the Ultimate Coordinator fixed that in an instant, illuminating the entire area to suitable levels and revealing it's inside, of which there were two things of note:

On the opposite side of the room were a couple of devices shaped like stand up showers. They were big enough so that a person could stand in them, and there was a panel on it.

To their right, occupying the entire wall though, was a large screen, a couple of chairs, and a keyboard. The very sight of this put a smile on Kira and Cagalli's faces instantly.

"Jackpot." Cagalli grinned happily, reaching for her head and pulling off her helmet with a 'plunk' sound, carefully placing it on the ground right afterwords.

"Yeah..." Kira barely spoke as he worked to rid himself of the normal suit, placing his helmet on one of the seats and almost jumping out of the rest of the outfit. "Now let's check it out..." He motioned over to the control panel and quickly searched over it for a button that would indicate a start up. "Where is it... ah, here!" He pushed the key and immediately looked back up to the screen while it began to flicker to life, flashing on and off with one mode following the other. Kira and Cagalli held their breaths deeply as they watched this, hoping that it wouldn't fail on them, and then... after about ten seconds, the monitor lit up and stayed up, but a new problem now faced them.

"Log In and Password... shit." Cagalli snapped her fingers angrily. "Think you can get at it?" She questioned.

"Maybe..." Kira sat down at the nearest chair and began to type away, inserting several combinations into the computer at a quick speed. Despite his best efforts though, all of his commands returned back to him with the same answer.

**ACCESS DENIED**

"Alright... let's try this... it was in one of the journals we saw along the way... I think it went..." He continued to input several keys into the user name and password, but once again.

**ACCESS DENIED**

"Really?" Cagalli questioned, slowly walking to one side of the room, opposite of the entrance way in a little fit as Kira tried many, futile combinations, being met every single time with...

**ACCESS DENIED**

**ACCESS DENIED**

**ACCESS DENIED**

**ACCESS DENIED**

**ACCESS DENIED**

"Dammit... and I don't think I could hack this one from the looks of it. Well... maybe we could go back up and gather some of those books and take them down here. Perhaps someone kept their info in one of them!" Kira suggested, turning and facing his sister.

"Yeah!" She cried out in anger. "And even if they did, what chances are there that they probably have the data we need!" She walked cover to one of the devices that was on the wall, stepping inside it and turning around, although she wasn't really aware of this. "SO DID WE JUST COME ON A WILD FREAGGIN GOOSE CHASE OR WHAT?" She slammed her right palm into the panel on the wall, and at that instant, the door to the 'stand up shower' she was in shut closed and many lights in it activated, some of them coming from the panel she had touched and glowing around the curvature of her hand.

"CAGALLI!" Kira screamed, quickly getting up and rushing over to his sister behind the glass panes. At the same time she was screaming for him from the other side, until a third, computerized voice boomed over both of them.

**INITATING BIOMETRIC DATA SCAN PLEASE REMAIN STILL WHILE IN THE BOOTH**

Right then, a large 'ring' of yellow light appeared around Cagalli's feet and began to rise upwards over her body as a gray 'noise' was emitted from the machine and the two stood in awe as the ring ascended above Cagalli's chest, neck and hair, stopping at the height of her being, and then coming back down again quickly.

**BIOMETRIC DATA SCAN COMPLETE WELCOME CAGALLI HIBIKI**

Then the door opened, and the Lioness nearly shoved Kira over as she rushed out of the booth and got away.

"What the... how the..." She breathed in and out in his arms, and he focused on her.

"Well... that's one way to get something done..."

"Yeah, don't joke like that. It was really dumb luck, that's all, asshole." She breathed in and out a little more. Kira still laughed a bit and the two looked at each other, until a change in the lighting of the room drew their attention towards the main monitor. It looked like a recorded video footage for in front of them was a women... not just any women, the brunette lady who they saw in the image the Uzumi Nara Attha gave Cagalli before he left this world. It was Via Hibiki... the women who they loosely recognize as 'mother', although that's not to say Kira wasn't more in tune with his adopted parents.

"She's..." Kira began. 'Well, the airlock was here because you can't use a biometric scanner that well with a normal suit on...'

"Well... it called me by my birth name..." Cagalli's eyes widened as they stared at the women in the screen. She was wearing a white lab coat, and behind her seemed to be a dark office room, filled with several small, journal-like books. The area itself appeared to be a mess, to be honest, but it wasn't the focus of Kira and Cagalli's attention, however from what they noticed, they had been in a room like it before while searching this place. Instead, they looked to the women herself. Via held an extremely depressed facial expression and from the changes in her skin and jacket color it was clear that she had been crying earlier.

"Via Hibiki... um... Mom?" Kira looked at the screen, and then the women blinked, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Note, this shall be my seventh attempt at writing this log entry, and hopefully the one where I do not allow my own emotions to get the better of me half way through it. You can see in the bottom left corner, the date at which this message is being recorded." Via's recording spoke in a calm, sweet, yet taxed voice. Checking the date on the bottom left corner revealing two lines of text, one of them stating 'Name: Via Hibiki' and the other stating 'Log Entry Date: July 24th, Cosmic Era 55', the year both of them were brought into this world, just a few months after May 18th. Finally, after a slight halt of speech, she started again. "However, due to how much of a secret these words are, I have enlisted the aid of certain friends of mine, to ensure that this log entry does not reveal itself within the data base for the next ten years, and that it can only be accessed by a positive biometric scan of my 'children'. Hello, my daughter and false son, I am the women who you can call mother, Via Hibiki, and I am here to tell you that which you both deserve to know, about your true origins, not the made up attempt of explaining it."

"'False son'?!" Kira moved forward a little, his eyes widening as Cagalli grabbed his left shoulder.

"Shh... we'll miss what she has to say!" Cagalli warned, utterly intent on paying attention to the women's words. 'Made up attempt of explaining it... how?' Cagalli could only wonder.

"Both of you, my two beautiful children, must be absolutely shocked right now, however old you are when you learn of this, but for my own sake, I simply cannot stand by and allow this lie to live. I must take a stand, considering all that I've conceded, and all that I've allowed to pass without fighting back. I must... no matter what, record this, even if it's never heard, for the sake of pleasing my own consciousness." Via continued, adjusting herself in her chair a little and staring intently at the camera.

"All that she conceded? Is this it?" Cagalli asked.

"SHH!" Kira replied back to her, causing her to stick her tongue out as he gave her a taste of her own medicine.

"Kira... Cagalli... if you still recognize yourselves by those names, understand that your mother loves you so very much, even though there's a high chance I may not be with you... or may never have been with you when you were growing up... that I may never have had the chance to be a mother to you both... I'm so sorry, but... but... I have to let this out." She seemed to sob a little, getting more emotional by the second. Even with this in mind, the deceased women wiped her face clean and shook her head with a look of determination and self-confidence that was almost identical to Cagalli's in it's style.

"Until only recently, I, like many others involved in this mess, considered the two of you to be twins, where one was born natural, and the other, was not, and he would be destined for great things... _in theory._ However, due to my husband's carelessness, I have managed to finally uncover the truth. Let's begin."

"_Considered twins? _WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Cagalli stomped her foot down on the ground, nearly tripping in a fit, but catching herself at the same time.

'Destined for great things...' Kira thought with a sour expression on his face as he stared unto the screen, allowing the women he considered his long dead biological parent to continue her explanation.

"It was always the dream of Ulen Hibiki, my husband and his colleagues to create the supreme life form: The Ultimate Coordinator. Over the century, due to George Glenn's revelation to humanity, they had adequate data on what the genome of the ultimate coordinator would look like, and they would aspire to create this being, no matter the cost. In addition to all the normal genetic benefits a coordinator has, this person would also be... more durable then any other human being who has ever existed. They would be able to survive explosions to a degree, where the majority would die..." Via stated, and in Kira's mind, all he could think of was the time when he had fought Athrun with the Aegis, and the Red Knight self destructed his machine in front of Kira's partially torn open cockpit, and explosion that should have most likely ended both of them, but even then, his mind went blank, only to wake up in bandages, in a bed belonging to the Clyne family.

"They would have an enhanced learning ability, allowing them to take control of advanced machinery and get the hang of it almost instantly whereas most people would need weeks... perhaps months of training to do." Next, Kira's mind recognized his first few battles _before _the advent of his SEED, where he fought tooth and nail against trained Zaft Aces, coordinators, in machines of similar strength and _lived. _

"Heck, his or her cells would even be augmented to a degree where they would be able to resist some amounts of high frequency radiation, where anyone else would perish instantly." To top it all off, the memory of the most difficult battle he had fought in the First War, and more specifically, it's climax, crawled forward from the depths of his engrams. Specifically, the part where the GENESIS blast contacted the Freedom for a few seconds and melted the outer layer of it's armor like ice came to mind. However, there was more.

"This, to them would be the future of mankind as we reach out further and farther into space and confront new obstacles that in order to pass, would require us to further enhance ourselves. However, this process would start on the small stage, with just one single human seed. They intended to create the embryo of this person from scratch at first... it would be completely synthesized and utterly devoid of anything natural or involving the normal human gestation process, something that even coordinators take great part in. Once they had created a functional human zygote, a task easier said then done, it would lay dormant and only start to grow after they initiated the it's process, but they cloned it en mass, knowing that they would face great trial and error along the path of making that zygote a functional, born, human being... a person who's rights would be recognized by our governments and who would live among us with the same protection that we all keep for granted, something that all the failed experiments could only dream of possessing." Via explained, still maintaining her cool for the time being, as if she had gone over this part many times before and the worst was still yet to come.

"So that explains the..." Cagalli whispered and looked back to Kira, remembering the room up there a ways back.

"Yeah..." Kira nodded. Then again, he already knew that unfortunate truth.

"It would be developed in an artificial womb that would be completely free from the mother's intervention and thus be at no risk of any chance along the way. Creating such a device would be an arduous task to say the least, but it would not be the last of Ulen's problems. Along the way though, they hit a bumpy snag: The process of reproduction." It was at this point, with that last word beginning with an 'R', that Via began to slip back down into sadness. She wasn't there though, not yet at least. "Because of the modifications made to this zygote were so extreme, it could never hope to ever properly reproduce with anyone, whether or natural or coordinator, and thus would be rendered infertile and a complete waste of time and money in the eyes of my husband and his peers." While Kira hadn't ever thought of having kids at this age, the very idea of _never _being able to struck him, hard, on the inside, and he stepped back, shocked eyed, as a result.

"After all, what's the reason behind creating the Ultimate Coordinator, one who's genes are not only enhanced to the point of near perfection but also dominant, if they cannot reproduce. In the grand scheme of things, this being's purpose would be to speed up the evolution of humanity, as it's genes would eventually find their way across the globe if you were patient enough. However, time, and love was on the researcher's side." Via halted there, and looked down below, towards her own belly, which now, was free from gestation, although it emptied somewhat before Cagalli's birth...

"Mom..." The blonde felt a slight connection with the women, even though it was only a recording, and placed her own right hand against her thin, tight abdomen, holding back some tears as she did.

"My husband and I had only recently decided to have our own children during all this... children who would be born naturally from my body into this world... or so I thought. I was told that I was pregnant with fraternal twins at the time – a boy and a girl. The girl showed no abnormalities whatsoever and was developing at an ideal pace... but my son... the same could not be said for him. Patau... Trisomy 13, and Edwards... Trisomy 18... both of these were genetic defects caused by non-disjunction during meiosis of the gametes and my son had been diagnosed with both of them, among other problems." At that, the twins just stared at each other with confused looks. "Simply put, if I had continued with my pregnancy along the entire way, my boy would have not lived for over a week after leaving my body. Ulen, however, would not allow this... or at least, I didn't think he would." She continued, those last words coming out with a very, very bitter aftertaste of contempt as the state of her mood seemed to worsen at a quicker pace, now.

"He had offered me a reprieve... a chance I could never refuse. Using the best biological technology known to man at the time, he would remove my son and correct his genome, so that he could live, survive, and have a happy life. I eagerly accepted this offer without any second thoughts to it at all... I wanted my children... BOTH OF THEM, and if I could save them... I would, even if it meant using unnatural methods... I was such a fool." She shook her head in raw disappointment... with herself. "I was put to sleep and woke up several days later... even though the operation should not have taken nearly that long. I know something was up, and I confronted my husband right then... I called him a liar... I and was completely justified in doing so." Via almost spat at the screen as she was reduced to a point where she was clearly holding back her subjective thoughts and feelings on the matter.

"What... happened next...?" Kira put his hands on his chest and lunged back forward a little. "Who... am I...?"

"Kira..." Cagalli reached over and stuck her right arm out, and Kira grabbed hold of it with his left as Cagalli looked at him... and in that look, she seemed to give him strength to pass through the women's sad tale.

"It would be too expensive to repair his genome and all their money from that bastard crook... Al Da Flaga! It was going into the Ultimate Coordinator project!" Now, Via definitely let go of the floodgates as several very visible tears rolled from her eyes and she cried for a good ten to fifteen seconds before wiping her face again and snorting in some wet air, trying to compose herself. "And so my little boy... my other child practically suffered the same fate as any fetus of a mother who undergoes an abortion."

"So that means... I'm not... Cagalli! Cagalli! M... mom...!" Kira cried out a little bit, and Cagalli squeezed his hand a little harder.

"Kira! Stop it! It doesn't matter! Please, it doesn't matter as much! Please, we can get through this! You've been through worse, right? RIGHT?" Cagalli screamed back at the brunette as he fell to his knees, and she followed suit, taking her right arm around his neck while their mother seemed to cry as well. "Shh... Kira... it's going to be alright... please..."

"Huh..." Kira sighed deeply, turning and looking at her, and hugging her again. "I'm sorry... I told you I would do anything for you... right now... and now I'm not..."

"It's alright... it's alright... if anything..." She broke away. "Stand up." She gently ordered, and a quick head shake from his followed by that requested action.

"Keep going... Via. If I can do it... well so can you." Kira pleaded, and a few seconds later, the women had finally cleared herself, her tone now vengeful and a bit more viscous.

"In reality, all the bastard ever wanted was a chance at my daughter..."

"ME?" Cagalli called out.

"She was his target, and he couldn't care less for his 'defected, flawed, weak' son. He took her from me, and he changed her... modified her."

"Modified..." Cagalli raised her palms and looked at them as they shook, failing to hold steady. "But my father always told me I was a natural..."

"Cagalli..." It was Kira's turn now to close in, place his palms on her own, and cease their shaking as the heat from his body transferred to hers. "Its... you're still Cagalli, before or after hearing this, just remember that."

"Yeah..." Cagalli whimpered weakly, recovering her strength, although little did she know, it would be lost soon.

"No, she would be considered a natural skill wise, as the changes to her genome would not affect the normal regions that the coordinator modification process touches. Instead, she was meant to be the _breeding mate _of his dream child, the Ultimate Coordinator." Kira and Cagalli immediately stood up as high as they could, looked at the monitor, and screamed at the top of their lungs in unison.

"**WHAT THE HELL?!**"

"My 'loving' husband, alongside his colleagues, would modify her so that she could properly produce heirs with his creation, acting as the bridge between his dream and reality." Via continued her lengthy explanation. Ironically though, to Kira and Cagalli, what she was saying was becoming closer and closer to a dream or nightmare then reality.

"She could still mate with anyone but he on the other hand, _could only_ mate with her, and their offspring would have all of his abilities and her fertility, allowing the Ultimate Coordinator's blood to seep into humanity unnoticed. I know this must be unbearable for both of you, as it was unbearable for me when I first learned of this... to think that your own sibling, who I'm sure is how both of you consider each other... to actually be the destined other half of your child's forty six chromosomes, should Ulen Hibiki have gotten his way... however, we must press on. Time is short, for me at least, and there is still more to be told, about how this massive lie of sibling hood ever came to be."

"NO FUCKING DUH! Get to the bottom of this, '_Mom_'! I'm supposed to..." Cagalli looked at Kira.

"We're supposed to..." He looked back at her, they locked eyes for a second, and then, all of a sudden, saw a small glimmer of _lust_ in each other's pupils, and quickly looked the other way as soon as they did.

"My husband betrayed my trust, but he didn't want to break my heart, and so because of that, he told me that although my son had been cured of his genetic defects, he had to be placed in the artificial womb for the rest of his gestation stage, and alongside those changes they made, he had turned him into the Ultimate Coordinator." Via then got up and moved her face closer to the camera. "There you have it, that is the lie that has been told to everyone who was not _directly _involved in the operation meant to 'cure' my son all those months ago. Although, I think he planned to reveal the truth to me in time, when you two were older but still very young, so that he could carry out his plans for you both. What they wanted was for you two to live in a life like a Prince and Princess, but pampered and isolated from the rest of the world, growing with each other and falling for one another until the time when you would decide to take things into your own hands and viola... I would be a grandmother." She rolled her eyes in disgust.

"That child would then have it's DNA taken so that it could be reproduced in case something happened to it, rather then going back to stage one of the plans. However, their dream was cut short, for it wasn't too long ago that Blue Cosmos started to get more violet and viscous, threatening us verbally and digitally, and my husband and his colleagues decided to keep the twins cover up for the time being, and play it off as if Kira Hibiki and Cagalli Hibiki, were brother and sister." Via leaned back in her chair, leaving the now-no-longer twins at a lose for words. "I must be going now... my foot tingles whenever trouble is afoot... pardon the pun... but my foot is tingling like never before right now. However, before I leave, Kira, if you're listening to this... I want you to know that I do not hate you... I don't hate you at all. You may not be my biological son, but as I hold you in my arms... I cannot help but feel as if _he _would feel the same way. So please... now that you know this... live your life... if you're somehow reading this, I'm probably dead now, because I would have informed you two when you were older." One final tear ran down her face.

"And Cagalli... I just want to say... you arrived on the same date as Kira did... but you were... I think five minutes earlier before my husband ran from me and scooped up his dream child from the artificial womb. Love you... goodbye..." Via cracked a motherly smile, and with that, the screen changed, displaying a simplified desktop set up, leaving Kira and Cagalli all alone by themselves with a ton of disturbing knowledge at their side. Slumping to the side, the Ultimate Coordinator found his back against the wall and slowly descending down it, his mind utterly boggled beyond belief in the wake of all of this.

"Kira... Kira..." Cagalli cried out. At first she walked toward him, and then she ran outright, grabbed him by the arms, and held him in place, trying to get his head to look back up at him. "Kira please..."

"Cagalli... how can I... react to all of this? Tell me... how?" He questioned.

"Kira... what do..."

"HOW! WHY!" He yelled out and raised his arms up in a fit of anger, although she held onto them with all her strength, not moving an inch. "Who thinks they have the right to do such a thing? WHO? My 'father'? Your real father? I was made to be this 'great wonder of the world' and you... what did she say... that you're supposed to be my 'breeding mate'? What kind of twisted nonsense do these people think they can get away with... did they ever think about us, rather then their own twisted ambitions? I mean... Cagalli... you can't even... I can't even..." He struggled to spout words, ranting on about how he thought everything he heard was the very definition of a violation.

"Kira... Kira... KIRA!" Cagalli yelled again, but he ignored her.

"I've grown to be your brother although we've had feelings for each other, but after all this time... to be told something like that? That's the truth? We were assigned... from before we were born, to be together?" He questioned madly, until right out of nowhere, she struck, her head and lips darting forward and locking with his own while Kira's eyes popped wide open and Cagalli's shut in bliss. However, soon after, she pulled back.

"Kira... I'm sorry, but I lied to you..." Cagalli said.

"What? You didn't..." She placed her right first finger over his lips.

"Even as she was speaking... I told you that this didn't matter... but... now that I've heard it all... I think it does..."  
"Cagalli... if you're thinking-"

"UH!" She interrupted him. "I know... if I was meant to be with you and someone told me I had to... then I would be very upset, but at the same time... perhaps this is good for us."

"It's good... because... Cagalli... no, I can't..." Kira blushed, knowing full well what she was getting at.

"Yes! Kira..." She moved in a little closer and laid another kiss directly on him, and he didn't struggle at all. "Kira Yamato... I love you, you know that, right? It was as a sibling... but even then... it was deeper. I love you... and I want to..."

"Be with you!" Kira lunged forward a bit and took Cagalli by surprise, lifting her up and laughing with joy as he did, the blonde locking her legs around his strong torso as they gazed into each other's _very souls. _"I know... I've felt the same way for a long time, Cagalli. I've wanted you... and after the first war, when I knew I couldn't have you... I decided that no matter what, I would keep you safe from any danger." They kissed again, blushing with happiness as they broke apart, although they felt a massive barrier that had stood between them and kept them separated for so long... suddenly disappear.

"Even when I knew the truth, I never stopped loving you, but as the Chief Representative of ORB... as a Princess, and you as my Prince brother, what could I do when we were siblings, especially if it managed to get public?"

"I don't know... but that's irrelevant now... Cagalli..."

"Kira! Even of Ulen wanted to force us together, that doesn't matter! I want to share my love with you, not because of our genetics, but because I've fallen for you as a human being!" They locked their lips together again, battling each other's tongues in a fierce battle for dominance that despite Kira's best efforts, he submitted to Cagalli as she exploded his mouth. Afterwords they broke the kiss, and she get off of him, but that was not it, for she was strong. They immediately traded saliva once more as Cagalli tugged at Kira and pushed him around, eventually knocking him onto the control panel for the computer and trying to get at his uniform buttons so she could ravage her long awaited prize, and he could do the same. Great feelings of delight, pleasure, and satisfaction overtook the minds of the pair, for finally, they could be with the one's they had truly longed for... at last, that asymptote of blood no longer vexed them.

"Here?" Kira asked as Cagalli ripped the buttons off of his uniform and placed her hands on his firm chest. He knew he was at the Lioness' mercy no matter which way things played out so he just played along.

"Anywhere... it doesn't matter!" She spoke with greedy lust, diving her mouth in once again as Kira tried to rid her of her own belongings. In the meantime however, they were oblivious of their surroundings. Eventually Cagalli broke away from her brother turned lover as he seemed to quiet down a little and quit 'interacting with her'. Then, her eyes widened, and she noticed _a dart_ in his left shoulder that had struck there when neither of them could pay attention. "WHAT THE HELL?" With all the haste her torso muscles Cagalli could muster, she tried to do a one eighty and look around, only to have another dart fly through the air and pierce her right arm below the elbow, her eyes fainting shortly soon after as she fell next to Kira's body in a deep slumber...

"Targets have been acquired and tranquilized..." An unknown voice whispered into a radio...

* * *

Location: Eternal, docked in Armory One

Time: One thousand and fifty hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

"Miss Lacus shall be staying in her quarters for the time being, I trust?" Chairman Durandal questioned in an assertive tone to an unnamed Zaft green suit on the ship's bridge as he himself settled into the chair smack dab in the middle of the room, where the pink haired singer had sat in the first war.

"Yes sir. She informed me that she'll exhaust her time looking over the speech you have and deciding what to say along with it." The green suit answered.

"An excellent way for her to spend her time." Durandal clasped both of his hands together, expecting the soldier to walk away, although nothing of the sort happened.

"Ugh sir... there's something else." He closed in and whispered something into the Chairman's right ear. When he was done, Durandal smiled, and actually chuckled a fair bit, before settling down.

"Is that so? Has the Lilhissir Team or the Archangel been informed about the recent achievements of the Rohash Team yet?"

"No sir, the Archangel is about the engage in battle as we speak."

"Understandable. We don't want the thought of triumph overwhelming the ability to do battle. Nevertheless, things are falling into place already? Well then, I think it's time we get going." Durandal directed his attention towards the Captain of the vessel seated below him. "Captain Levit, I think it's time the Eternal launches... now." Durandal ordered.

"Ugh, yes sir." The blonde haired, blue eyed, middle aged black suit responded. "Give the orders to open the main gate!" He cast his left hand forward, and the large doors that separated the Eternal from the rest of space slowly parted, until they were flush with the wall. "Engines to cruising speed, take us out slowly." He continued, the helmsman of the Eternal igniting the ship's many engines and forcing her forward as the docking clamps released the pink vessel. "Now... adjust heading to course nine five, and increase engine output to maximum cruising speed." He finished, and the many thruster of the Eternal boosted their output as the ship left Armory One at maximum speed, heading off into the distance as a certain Chairman held quite the smug look.

'Two birds... with one stone...' Durandal thought.

* * *

Mendel Colony debris belt, at the same time:

"Easy goes, helm. If we pull this off correctly, we won't even need to launch our mobile suits at all." Kendan Westenfluss boasted from the Archangel's bridge as the ship sputtered along at nearly a snails pace.

"Coming up on the designated coordinates. Distance: Twenty thousand and closing." Ian Fran reported.

"XO, activated Gottfrieds one and two." Kendan stated.

"Sir! Activate Gottfrieds!" Erin Dubu ordered, the two large double beam cannons of the ship rising up from the legs and extending their barrels to firing positions.

"Okay, here's the plan. We'll come in from behind this asteroid and take her out with one shot! Gladys will not see this coming a mile away!" Kendan grinned with self-assurance.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Minerva's bridge:

The blonde haired Captain sat in her Chair with her head against it's left rest, raising her left arm and looking at the watch on it while she waited, her ship completely stationary in the asteroid field, and safe... from what she knew. At the same time her bridge crew was getting a little anxious, although nobody was speaking at all. That is... until...

"Hang on... what's this?" Bart skeptically scanned his instruments for a second. "Captain! Large heat source detected directly above us! It looks like warship class! Distance: Ten thousand and closing!"

"Are you?" Talia chocked.

"No way..." Arthur nearly died.

"MALIK! GET US OUT OF HERE!" The Captain yelled at the top of her feminine, coordinator lungs.

"ON IT!" The helmsman screamed as he tried desperately to input some commands into the ship and power up the engines.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"She's moving sir! They've spotted us!" Mary Walafi blurted.

"Shall we... deploy the mobile suits?" Meyrin questioned.

"GAH! We still have this! Ian, punch it! Dubu, fire at the bridge as soon as you get line of slight!" Kendan ordered.

"SIR!" Both officers responded fiercely as the Archangel lit up all of it's nuclear pulse thrusters and quickly cruised towards the edge of the asteroid they were clinging to and went around it.

* * *

"DIRECTLY ABOVE US! IDENTIFIED ARCHANGEL-CLASS VESSEL! LASER DESIGNATORS SPOTTED! TARGETING US!" Bart screamed out loud, almost like a little girl.

"HOW DID... THEY FIND US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE? MALIK, EVADE!" Talia almost had a heart attack trying to say that.

"Captain... it's... too late!" Malik answered as the two double beam cannons on the larger ship powered up and shot four wide beam shots directly at the Minerva. All time seemed to stop, with the Minerva's crew in a state of utter panic, Kendan grinning, while his crew kept themselves to a dull anticipation of what would happen next... which was unexpected.

_The four Gottfried shots impacted an object that was not seen to the naked eye or radar... an object that was invisible to all... Girty Lue._

-To Be Continued-


	16. Phase 45: Three Way Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

A/N: It was my intention for this story to be SxS and KxC all along. I told you guys to forget about it for the sake of believing that Kira was dead post Phase 33B, and not just assume him alive, alright? That being said, I'm pretty sure there were more then a couple who actually thought he was still alive in the first place, but... whatever.

Anyway... coming off from the last cliffhanger:

* * *

Location: Mendel Colony Asteroid Field

Time: Eleven hundred hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

_"DIRECTLY ABOVE US! IDENTIFIED ARCHANGEL-CLASS VESSEL! LASER DESIGNATORS SPOTTED! TARGETING US!" Bart screamed out loud, almost like a little girl._

_"HOW DID... THEY FIND US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE? MALIK, EVADE!" Talia almost had a heart attack trying to say that._

_"Captain... it's... too late!" Malik answered as the two double beam cannons on the larger ship powered up and shot four wide beam shots directly at the Minerva. All time seemed to stop, with the Minerva's crew in a state of utter panic, Kendan grinning, while his crew kept themselves to a dull anticipation of what would happen next... which was unexpected._

___The four Gottfried shots impacted an object that was not seen to the naked eye or radar... an object that was invisible to all... Girty Lue._

* * *

The typical mundane atmosphere of the Mendel Colony was torn to shreds as a very large explosion burst from the Earth Alliance stealth carrier, the offensive shots from the Archangel striking it's large, port side set of propellent tanks, which caused it to detonate violently, as well as it's far port side Gottfried, and that disabled the weapon outright. While the explosion created a very light pink light, the Captains of all three vessels involved in this engagement did what they could to either recover, get ready for an all out attack on the other two teams, or both.

"What the hell was that?" Erin Dubu's eyes nearly burst from his head.

"It appears we have an uninvited guest! The one who's been pestering Zaft's space fleets ever since the fall of Junius Seven... well then..." Kendan scratched the side of his head while thinking of a plan. "Ian, twenty to starboard! Bring us around that asteroid over there for cover! Erin, prepare the Archangel for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat! Meyrin, launch _all _of our machines!"

"Prepare Igelstellungs and Helldarts for interception! Valiant One and Valiant Two, activate! Load all stern missile launchers with Sledgehammers!" Erin Dubu ordered.

"All mobile suit pilots are to report to their machines immediately!" Meyrin spoke into her microphone.

* * *

"Malik, get us out of here! Launch anti-beam depth charges, NOW! Lower the bridge and prepare the ship and our mobile suit compliment for combat! Abbey, issue a Condition Red! Bart, don't take your eyes off of those two ship!" Talia snapped her fingers, issuing out several orders with just one quick lungful of air.

"Ma'am!" Arthur hiccuped as the bridge started to descend and several sirens went off throughout the entire vessel. "Activate CIWS, Tristans and Isolde. Load all launchers with Dispars!" The vessel's engines powered up to their maximum levels as she continued to move away from her disrupted resting position, spreading out her large wingspan in the process.

* * *

"What the hell's happening?" Stella questioned from the hanger bay as she looked up and around at the shaking vessel. Everyone had suddenly been thrown around in an instant. Luckily enough for the girl, Shinn, as well as several other pilots were on their way.

"Are we entering a battle? With who?" Vino questioned.

"I don't know, but we better get some suits on." Yolan suggested, his friend agreeing quietly.

"STELLA!" Shinn squawked, closing on the blonde at nearly full speeds and grabbing her by the arm. All the while Abbey's voice was blaring over the intercom system, alerting everyone on board of the situation.

"Shinn!" She grabbed onto him, her voice a singing joy while he tried to take her to the changing room.

"Let's go... we've got to get ready." Shinn warned, when a voice called out for him in the distance.

"Hey, Ensign Asuka!" It was Lieutenant Baba from afar. "Are the Lady and Commander back yet?" He questioned, while all Shinn could do was give a depressed answer.

"No... not yet."

"Damn!" Baba growled. "Just don't try to battle inside the colony or anything like that!"

'Where are you, Kira? Cagalli?' Shinn questioned.

* * *

"Hurry up with that damage report! Fire control crews... well control the fire!" The second in command of Girty Lue shouted as the Alliance crew members scurried to get their damaged vessel under control.

"Damn! We follow them, find them... and just when we're about to take a shot, _that thing _comes out of nowhere... it's almost like the time before!" Captain Ian Lee grumbled to himself. "Whats the status of the Mirage Colloid right now? Can we activate it?"

"No sir... not effectively with just one tank, and we don't have enough momentum to get out of their range even if we do!"

"Okay then... okay then accelerate to maximum combat speed! Activate n-jammers! Battle stations, everyone! All mobile suits are to sortie! We were sent here on a mission to take care of a dangerous adversary, and even though the situation has changed, our orders have not! Now lets do it!" The Captain howled out loud, compelling his entire crew into action.

"Aye, sir!" Nearly the entire bridge crew answered.

"Good! Now prepare a full load of Corinthos missiles in the tubes! This trick almost worked before, so let's try it again!" Ian shouted.

* * *

Back on the Archangel:

"Damn, that's such bullshit!" Kendan slapped his left armrest with an open palm.

"Captain, we've just passed out of laser line of sight for both enemy vessels!" Mary reported.

"Good, bring up a map of the current area, and display the current headings of both the Minerva and Girty Lue-class ship!" Kendan ordered as his radar operator clicked away, the top right screen of the ship displaying what he wanted to know. Kendan got up out of his seat for a better look and stared at the map, as well as the indicators for all three ships. From what was shown, the Girty Lue was heading in a direction opposite of the Archangel, while the Minerva was on a perpendicular course to her port, which, given the expression on Kendan's face when he saw this, was something he didn't want to see happen.

"Admiral, our pilots are requesting orders!" Meyrin said.

"Orders?" Kendan flinched slightly, turning to the teenaged girl.

"What should they be going after?"

"Oh! Of course, dammit!" Kendan smashed an open right palm into his face. "Have Lunamaria and the Lyuda DOM cling to the ship and cover us! I'm sure they can do that much! As for the other three DOMs... they're to engage the Girty Lue's machines! My son, Athrun and Rey are to have launch priority! Tell them to get in front of the Minerva and force her to alter her course if it's possible! Tell them that that ship is not to reach the other side of the colony, is that clear?" Kendan ordered and questioned, one following the other.

"The other side of Mendel?" Meyrin questioned, clearly confused.

"Never mind, girl!" Kendan snapped as a small drop of sweat formed on his brow. "Just do it!"

"Fine..." Meyrin grumbled. 'At least Luna is protecting me...'

'Orders are that the Lilhissir Team will be taking care of their precious royalty from the other side of the colony... we're to destroy the Minerva but thanks to the interference provided by the Alliance... we may need to settle for just preventing them from reaching the other side of Mendel while the pickup is taking place... this is going to be one difficult battle to say the least...' Kendan sat back down in his chair with a disgruntled look of dissatisfaction.

* * *

A large, spherical, three hundred and sixty degree cockpit lit up, displaying what was outside of the gundam perfectly as the pilot braced herself.

"Taking off!" Stella ramped her thrusters up and raced along the catapult, jumping off of it and out of the ship in an instant. The grey armor of the Demoness quickly turned to a bright, pure silver as it placed it's shield on top of it's head, rotating it's lower legs, and transformed into Skylord Mode.

"Shinn Asuka, Judicator, launching!" With a pose not so different from that of a skier sliding down some icy slopes, the Judicator rushed along the Minerva's catapult like a speeding projectile. Once it had launched from the ship, Shinn performed a quick spin as his armor activated, and opened his wings up to power up their particle effects.

In the meantime, following the departure of the two piloted gundams, the remaining five mass production models scurried to leave the ship too, while the bridge crew silently wrestled with their own anxiety from above.

* * *

"For the time being, have all mobile suits surround the ship and play defensively." Talia ordered, tapping her left armrest periodically with her left first finger, creating a sound very similar to dropping water.

"Got it, ma'am." Abbey answered as two more mobile suits left the ship.

"Arthur prepare to fire off anti-beam depth charges... no, belay that! Be ready to shoot anything besides the Tannhauser at a moments notice. Malik, if you see some offensive fire coming for a critical location on the ship, don't be afraid to evade it, even if I haven't seen it... WHOA AHH!" Talia braced herself as the Minerva suddenly dived forward to dodge several yellow blasts that raced over the bow of the ship, coming from her port side.

"Like that, Captain?" Malik gulped.

"Yes, exactly." Talia nodded with pride, yet breathed heavily in and out.

* * *

"Stay sharp, everyone. It looks like there's more Alliance knockoff's coming our way!" Lieutenant Baba warned, switching into his mobile suit form.

"You mean the ones we fought earlier?" Shinn questioned, raising the Judicator's bare, left arm to block a beam rifle shot with his shield.

"Damn, those guys were a notch tougher then your average Alliance!" The Byakko pilot Kalur mentioned with a grin.

"Enough talk! Let's get them!" Stella weaved out of ranged weapons fire, both beam and rail gun alike, before withdrawing, extending, and powering up her large staff and preparing to rush forward, blinking before she pushed on the thrusters.

"Hey? What's that?" She observed the senors of the Demoness going off like mad.

* * *

"Incoming missiles from port! Thirty eight of them, Captain, and they all appear to be of the anti-ship variety!" Bart the Radar Operator yelped, stirring the attention of the Captain.

"What? Dammit! Intercept! Ten to starboard! Raise bow thirty and ascend! Arthur..." Talia growled.

"Ma'am! Launchers one and two, Dispars, fire!" The Executive Officer frantically screamed with the ship performed her maneuvers and fired off a load of her own missiles, alongside CIWS shells, to intercept, while the mobile suits outside also tried to focus down the large number of projectiles.

* * *

"Come on! Come one!" Stella pulled the trigger for her Type-325LR "Ignire" Beam Cannons as fast as she could, unleashing pair after pair of shots at the missiles, while the Minerva's remaining Ootsukigata followed suit with it's beam rifle and shoulder-mounted cannon.

* * *

"Hang on..." Arthur mumbled a little on the bridge, placing his left hand on his chin in a philosophical pose, looking at the asteroid to the ship's starboard through the array of screens.

"Arthur? Gah!" Talia leaned forward as an outside explosion rocked the ship.

"Captain, I've got more missiles coming for us! From the same direction! However there isn't that many, but at least fifteen." Bart alerted.

'Can't be Kendan... the Archangel doesn't have enough launchers to fire that many at once... must be the Alliance ship...' Talia reasoned while staring at her second in command, until he finally jolted up and turned to the radar station.

"Are they actually targeting us? Or are they targeting that?" Arthur pointed towards the large chunk of rock to his right.

"Um... hang on?" Bart scratched his head. "No they're not! Actually! We're..." Bart freaked out as another explosion from outside shook the vessel again. This time Abbey ducked her head down in fear.

'Dammit! This trick again!' Talia thought, thinking of the battle against Girty Lue from before, when they got stuck in a pile of debris. "Alright, I AM NOT playing this game again! Are the Alliance mobile suits closing in on us yet?" Talia questioned with extreme vigor.

"Well..." Abbey lifted her head up. "As of now... they're closing in. Fast."

"Our machines won't be able to intercept that many missiles while they're in battle! Captain, if we don't...!" Arthur panicked.

"QUIET! I know, and I think that's exactly what the Captain of that Alliance ship is thinking! Now to..." Talia lowered her voice. '...come up with a plan... a plan... what could I do...?' She reached into her mind and thought of several ideas on how to handle the situation, but then she remembered that this was the Mendel Colony. Before they had actually reached this location, Cagalli and Erica had told Captain Gladys and Officer Trine of the fight against both the Dominion and Zaft at Mendel during the First War. Right then, something came to the Captain's mind. "That's it!" She snapped her fingers and sat up straight and properly.

"Huh... sheesh!" Arthur's hat nearly fell off of his head as one missile got through and struck the rock next to the Minerva, scattering some rubble, which collided with the ship's hull.

"Captain, I think I've got a fix on the enemy vessel's location! Distance: six thousand at seven o'clock!" Bart stated.

"Good!" Talia nodded. "Alright, Malik, Arthur, listen very carefully..." She started to state a long list of orders.

* * *

Girty Lue bridge:

"Maintain missile barrage for the time being! They won't be able to hold out for much longer, not if our mobile suits get into the frying pan! Like what Neo said a while back, if that ship ends up stopping, it's dead!" Captain Ian Lee explained in a somewhat crude manner.

"Reload launchers one through seventeen immediately!" One of the random crew members shouted amongst all the ruckus going on.

"Shall we come out from behind our cover yet?" Another crew member asked.

"Is the Archangel-class approaching us now?" Ian inquired.

"No sir."

"Then maintain our current heading for the time being!" Ian ordered.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Captain?" Arthur questioned with perplexity after hearing Talia's commands.

"Don't ask, Arthur! Malik, course change: Twenty five to starboard and decelerate by twenty percent!"

"Yes ma'am!" Malik twisted the Minerva's controls and sent her in a twisting turn.

"Dispars, fire!" Arthur signaled as the ship launched missiles from all of her tubes, the projectiles flying off into the distance.

"Alright... Arthur?" Talia turned to her XO with a subtle, forgiving smile. "What?"

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" He questioned.

"And what would that be?"

"Ugh... it's a weird..." He began to scratch his head. "Tactic that... involves..." One again, another missile exploded near the ship and vibrated her hull with it's shock wave. "Oh, forget it!"

"I would just assume she's doing what you think she's doing, if you could have analyzed it like that." Abbey mentioned from the back of the room.

"Just wait and see..." Talia crossed her legs as her body relaxed slightly.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mobile suits from both the Minerva and Girty Lue were embroiled in combat.

The Skylord Mode Demoness rolled and dived while evading heavy weapon's fire from an opposing Rouge Windam, trying to close the gap and finish off the opposing suit.

"Ahh! Coming to get me! I'll show you!" The Alliance pilot threatened, reaching for the "Schwert Gewehr IV" 18.23m Anti-ship Sword behind it's right shoulder and striking downwards with it as it activated, intending to strike the silver machine in it's back on the first blow, only to slice through the nothingness of space. "Huh?"

"BEHIND YOU!" Stella yelled with murderous joy as she transformed into mobile suit mode behind her target!

"Shit! No matter, I'll impale you... REGARDLESS!" The Rouge Windam pilot attempted a knee-jerk back flip, however once he got to the point where the tip of his sword was facing the direction behind him, Stella had already side stepped to her right, and with a quick upward flick of her beam whip, the anti-ship sword was broken from the unpowered side. "Baaa..."

"Say goodbye, Logos sheep!" The blonde withdrew her staff and impaled the suit with it's spear end and gutted it outright, the blade coming through the other side of the Windam.

"You wanna play my game then? FINE!" Shinn howled, brandishing only one of his anti-ship swords and rushing towards another Rouge Windam, only this one had it's pair of beam sabers drawn in defensive poses. Quickly, the Judicator performed a clockwise corkscrew and rushed up above the suit, slamming down with it's one blade. "But you'll regret it! I promise you that!" He pushed harder on his one blue, green beamed blade as the Windam tried to block with both of it's in an 'x' formation above its head, the Executor sword pushing the Windam to it's limits as it's own sabers threatened to cut into the suit's head.

"NAA! NO!" The Rouge's pilot, a female, screamed in shock as her own sabers cut her mobile suit's v-fin off, slowly but surely, melting the metal around them and the head in the process. Then, as the blades continued to close in on her chest, something happened.

"AHH! Shit!" Shinn's normal red eyes darted to the right for a second. Following that he suddenly pulled away and ascended above the Windam as a large, white and red multi-phase beam cannon shot passed through the location where he just was, both saving and missing the Windam by a hair.

"Boys... and girl, it appears we have some more company! Be on the lookout for anything they might pull and especially for their stealth mobile suit!" The Minerva's Lieutenant Baba warned, catching wind of Shinn's actions as he looked towards the shots origin: The abdomen of Zaft's ZGMF-X20S Legacy, followed by several more suits.

"Oh, those appear to be new models?" Stella exclaimed, looking into the distance at the Zaft suits, while at the same time bouncing up and down to avoid one of Girty Lue's stray missiles. Although the Legacy and Crusader were visible, there was no doubt that the Assassin was probably with them, just hiding. However, that was what caused Stella's sudden curiosity, for among the two gundams were three new machines, that were actually foreign to her. These were the machines that had been loaded onto the Archangel before she left Carpentaria. They looked like Rey's old DOM Soldier but were recolored to a dark purple and black color scheme, with some kind of small, shallow hole in their chest, off to the side. Even with these differences in mind, there were other factors that made these machines more distinct. One of these factors was that only one had a physical shield on it's arm, while they all had small emitters on their forearms, both left and right.

The DOM traveling the fastest had the same type of offensive armaments as Rey's old DOM. Those armaments consisted off a single beam saber on the right side of it's backpack, and a combined Bazooka/Beam Rifle held in it's right hand.

The second of these had the physical shield mounted on it's left arm that almost completely resembled the AJ-001S "Abwehr" Combined shield of the Crusader, but it didn't have the grapple stinger or twin beam boomerangs. This machine also had a pair of small beam cannons mounted over it's shoulders, once again, resembling the Fatum-10 cannons of Athrun's Crusader gundam. Finally, in place of the single long beam saber of the first suit, this one had a blade that appeared to be very similar, but was fitted with an extra emitter on the protruding side.

The last suit was the slowest of the three. It held no melee weapons by the looks of it, and held a pair of beam rifles, one in each hand. These rifles were gray and white, and looked like a downsized, cheaper, easier to produce, and generally weaker version of the one's the Legacy's RL-100 "Reinigen" Hyper-Energy Beam Rifles. In addition to this, there were several pods that looked like DRAGOONs mounted on it's back in a six-stared fashion, with the top pod resembling a large DRAGOON, and the rest looking like the smaller variety. Even with that in mind, these pods were not identical to the ones the Legacy used. While they were shaped in almost an identical fashion, the five smaller ones each had a single, wide barrel integrated to their shape, as opposed to a pair of beam guns. The larger pod, likewise, lacked beam guns but featured two of these barrels on opposite sides facing forward, and a small set of beam spike emitters at it's tip.

"Everyone, it's time for action. We have our orders, now lets carry them out." Rey commanded in a very sterile, neutral, emotionless tone as they continued towards the ORB and Alliance suits.

"Be sure to try and surround Kira first. He's easily their best, no doubt." Athrun warned, firing a shot from his beam rifle far away.

"I don't think he's here right now, Athrun..." Rey stated. "If that's the case then Shinn will be our priority." The blonde looked over to the bluenette.

"Shinn? Maybe... probably not though." Athrun shook his head in disagreement. "He's no slouch, but judging from what happened last time... all he proved to me was that he could yell and scream, nothing more." Athrun mentioned, thinking of his battle against the Judicator during Operation Justice, and how Kira had to intervene and save Shinn's sorry ass after Athrun talked down to him.

"Hmmph..." Rey scuffed. "Still, be wary, they're targeting us now!"

"Alright you guys! Take this!" Takito yelled.

"Yeah!" Yoshura growled, the two pilots firing off all the ranged beam weapons between their Ootsukigata and Byakko into the distance, targeting the purple DOMs. However, much to their surprise, the DOM with a shield and the DOM with the DRAGOONs both raised their left arms and activated a glittery blue beam shield each, outright blocking the hits.

"Ugh?" Both ORB pilots wondered in confusion.

"Grr! It's Rey again!" The bright red wings of the Judicator flew ignited the vacuum of space as Shinn prepared a pair of energy orbs, one in each palm, and whipped both of them, left after right, at the Legacy. "Eat that!"

"Hmm..." Rey mumbled, maintaining a nearly perfect stone face if not for the slight smile that enveloped his lips while he strafed to dodge Shinn attack and reach the battle zone. "Now you will all..." He muttered to himself as the Legacy's DRAGOONs suddenly launched off of it's body and began to fly around the zone and take targets.

"No! No! No!" Stella worried and cried immaturely.

"Everyone... dodge like you've never dodged before! THAT'S A DIRECT ORDER!" Lieutenant Baba warned the ORB pilots, knowing exactly what was up as the DRAGOONs flew and looped through the area around them like many individual spiders trying to lay one massive net of webs...

"... die." Rey finished, his tone detached an annoyed as all twelve DRAGOONs opened fire simultaneously with their RL-468 "Sakrileg" Pivotal Beam Cannons at once, an unbelievable array of bright, criss-crossing, green beam fire blanketed the entire area, forcing the attention of all suits. Thankfully though, because there were so many mobile suits in the area, and Rey was trying to target down Shinn and Stella above all else, the task of evading his shots as a mass production model, was considerably easier then it would have been otherwise. Still, in an instant the entire area was practically transformed from a battlefield into a dancing ground for mobile suits. Practically all of the remaining missiles which were set to trap the Minerva were struck and detonated during this time, and if a machine was engaged in melee combat, it broke off from that to evade Rey's fire, and the pilot prayed that their enemy was doing the same, else they would both perish.

"Holy... damn!" Shinn grit his teeth with extreme pressure as stress itself rushed through his veins in the form of adrenaline, the Judicator making knee-jerk reactions to the Legacy's fire, twisting, turning, rolling and strafing all at once to avoid damage, while all the while attempting to go on the offensive, but with no amount of luck to be found. The black and red gundam would summon a pair of twilight energy beam orbs in it's main hands and throw them like baseballs at the DRAGOONs, large and small, but to no avail. "Grr... this is bullshit! Rey's even tougher now!"

"Ah... ah... stay calm... he'll have to pull them back and recharge them! He'll have to do that!" Stella maintained a controlled state of dread as she moved out of the way of Rey's shots, back and fourth, up and down, side to side, with the precision of an Ace pilot. "No you don't!" She saw several beams coming for her from the side, and even one of the Legacy's large DRAGOONs had turned on it's pink beam spikes. In response, Stella powered up her beam shield array and wrapped the Demoness' wings around it's body and bent it's arms and legs up, deflecting all attacks away. "Phew..."

"Hmm... just... just..." Lastly, Lieutenant Baba ducked under an oncoming beam shot, pulled his left arm shield in from of his Byakko's chest, and stretched out it's right one, absorbing a couple direct hits to them with the anti-beam coating, only to find one of his own in danger. "IKEYA! Behind you!"

"What?" The other, lower ranked Byakko pilot panicked as he pulled back to avoid one beam, only to have a large DRAGOON come up from behind him and impale his machine directly in the back. "PLAAAAHHHHHHH!" The pod entered his cockpit and practically annihilated his body in an instant.

"Damn, Ikeya was a good man... But now that leaves only Yoshura, Kalur, Takito, the two Ensigns and myself left..." Baba tugged his right controls back and forth in frustration. "Assuming the Commander doesn't come back... and Lady Cagalli. My Prince, I pray to Haumae that you will keep her safe above all else in this world, even if that means I perish in this hellish battle." Baba narrowed his eyes a little, opening them again once the voice of a teenaged girl permeated the near silence of the communications line.

"Yes! He has to recharge them now! Look!" Stella pointed out as all the pods, which were intact, seemed to race back towards the Legacy gundam.

"Or he's luring us in to fire them all at once. _This is _Rey we're talking about..." Shinn grumbled, quickly arming the Judicator's right hand with the Type-410SS "Arbitrator" Beam Saber stored in the wing hinge behind it.

"Perhaps, but if he fires them all forward at once it'll probably be easier to get out of the way! Everyone go for that machine!" Baba ordered, switching his Byakko into it's Waverider form and bursting towards the group of Zaft machines.

"Here they come, get ready to cover me!" Rey ordered as the DRAGOONs surrounded his machine and prepared to dock back onto it.

"Um hum..." Athrun mumbled, decisively targeting the Judicator, performing the process that would combine both of his beam sabers together, and then blazing forward with a twist towards the gundam itself.

"I meant him..." Rey gave a signaling nod to the DOM with DRAGOONs mounted on its back as the Legacy's reattached themselves. In response the DOM shot off all six of it's own pods and sent them away for combat. As the ORB suits approached from the right and the distraught Alliance machines came in from the left these DRAGOONs went opened fire immediately on the opposing machines, firing off bright, ignited, yellow ammunition while the remaining two DOMs joined in to the fray.

"Oh... not this... again!" The pilot of a Rouge Windam, who had already lost his right wing, yelled in short bursts while he tried to evade the DOMs extensional fire, backing away slightly as a pair of yellow bursts flew between his suits legs and over it's head.

"What do we have here?" A voice, coming from the DOM with the physical shield questioned as he reached for his double-edged beam saber and switched the power on both sides, in addition to igniting a fixed beam blade on the bottom of his shield as he rushed towards the Windam with the normal DOM behind him.

"I think we have one dead natural!" The DOM with a duel-purpose gun raised it's weapon with both hands and locked onto the evading Windam, only to find his partner in the way. "MOVE!"

"Awe... just a second!" The other DOM pilot yelled back, closing in on the Windam and raising his naginata over his head, bringing it down with a slice, cutting the Rouge's legs off at the knees, rising up and performing a one eighty behind it. The DOM sliced it's deactivated anti-ship sword in half with it's shield and fired a pair of beam shots from it's shoulder cannons at the backpack of the Windam, all of this causing the pack to detonate and brutally force the pink machine forward.

"Gluuu ugh...!" The pilot spat up some blood as he found his chest caught by his restraints, looking up out his cockpit camera to see something that he desperately wanted to avoid.

"I've got the finish!" The ranged DOM pulled the trigger on it's bazooka, sending an explosive round directly into the Windam's cockpit and point-blank range, destroying both man and machine in a sickeningly brutal fashion.

"You made a bad move attracting the attention of both sides at once!" Lieutenant Baba cried, activating both sets of his beam fangs and lashing forward directly at the Legacy, striking down with his left hand as Rey reached for and sliced upwards with one of his beam sabers, causing beam to meet beam and sparks to fly as a result. "I don't like the Alliance but they may prove useful in bringing you down!" He backed away a little and swung in from the right with his respective arm, the Legacy blocking with it's left beam shield. All the while Rey kept a stone cold expression as he held off the Byakko and it's pilot, while Baba himself took notice to a Rouge Windam and Noir Windam, both of them headed towards him and Rey with the intention to kill. "Today might be your day!" The two broke off in order to avoid getting hit by a dagger toss from one of the Windams.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Rey replied, looking at his own radar, which tracked the position of his units. Without even looking at the pair of fraternal Windams, the Noir variant exploded as a pink beam sliced through it's torso and severed it horizontally, while the other one quickly took hold of both it's beam sabers and turned towards it's dead ally, and was engaged in combat as Heine deactivated his Mirage Colloid. "Now it's just you and me, whoever you are..." Rey said as the Byakko took a downward swing with it's right arm and the Legacy pulled back. "Doesn't matter to me." Baba flicked his right arm back up and clashed against the Legacy's beam saber again, the ORB Lieutenant growling while all this was happening.

"Rah! I've got backup! Ensign Loussier, here!" Baba barked at the Demoness.

"On it!" Stella flew with a twist, firing her shield cannon at Rey, the Legacy pulling back away from the Byakko and deploying all eight of it's fully recharged small DRAGOONs again. "This... is... frustrating..." Stella grumbled while serving to avoid the shots which were being divided around the entire mobile suit battlefield.

* * *

So with a pair of lime green, scimitar shaped beam sabers in hand, the Judicator navigated through it's own share of the lethal net of beam fire that Rey's Legacy was summoning, eventually clashing the beam in it's right arm against one of a familiar pink: The right lower leg beam of the Crusader.

"ATHRUN ZALA!" Shinn called out with the ignited fury of a thousand blazing suns. He pulled back the Judicator's right arm and swung it inwards, meeting Athrun's beam shield dead on. "You guys followed us here, didn't you? How?" Shinn reversed his thrust and pulled back.

"It's not that hard to find a ship that's traveling near Armory One's territory during a time of war, so I'm told." Athrun questioned, firing off a pair of beam cannon shots at the Judicator. Although Athrun's shots were coming after him, Shinn's main concern was the DRAGOON fire from Rey which was still lining the entire battlefield. Even then, Shinn still managed to avoid any hostile fire."What the hell are you doing all the way out here, Shinn? I heard you, Cagalli, and Kira loud and clear, before, so why are you all the way out here rather then going after Logos? And what's with the Alliance?" Athrun questioned. At the same time though, it seemed like the Legacy's DRAGOON fire was thinning out now, but even with that in mind, Athrun could not help but capitalize on his foes struggle of evasion, and quickly closed the ranged gap between them in a matter of seconds.

"Earth Alliance?" Shinn swallowed a little. The Crusader swiped across the Judicator's chest, but Shinn continued to reverse his thrust, avoiding the hit, but only just. "Beats me!" He snarked, only this time Athrun raised his beam naginata up and thrust the back end of it forward in a way similar to how a powerful gladiator would throw his javelin, but without the throwing, of course. "However our reasons are actually none of your concern, Athrun!" Shinn reflexed the Judicator's left hand guard up and blocked with it's beam shield.

"Hmmph! If that's the case then I'll finish what I started last time, back at ORB! I noticed Kira's not here right now!" Athrun declared with a demonstration of quick skill, rotating out of the way as Shinn tried to stab his suit in the chest with his right-handed saber.

"Kira? I won't need his help to defeat you!" Shinn pressured Athrun's blade with his shield a little harder, the grip on his controls tightening as his anger grew, approaching the point where it would ignite.

"Yeah, well see about that!" Athrun pulled back on his beam naginata, swung his shield in front of the Crusader's torso and quickly bull-charged towards the Judicator, savagely crashing into it's chest like a semi truck into a house. This sentenced Shinn into a loud, painful scream of agony as he was shoved away, the two gundams steadily distancing themselves from the main brawl of metal behind Athrun's machine. "If you're not going to tell me why you're here, I won't ask, but at least inform me why ORB isn't taking up arms against Logos too! Djibril's a much of a threat to you as he is to us and you know it!" Athrun let off of the Judicator, and stored his beam sabers away, only to withdraw his rifle and point it at the drifting Judicator as Shinn recovered from the collision.

"Er..." Shinn shook his head and groaned like he just got out of bed, ascending to avoid several beam shots from the Crusader and then looking down on the pink machine. "OH, I know it more than anyone, expect maybe you! If you're so voraciously bloodthirsty for some _Crème brûlée __a la Djibril_, then by all means, scour the rest of space for him, you bastard! Like I give a rat's ass about what you do, as long as it doesn't involve ORB or myself!" Shinn sheathed his pair of beam sabers away, powered up his palm emitters, and then chucked the resulting orbs at the Crusader.

"While the Minerva rests in the middle of nowhere like this?" Athrun swerved out of the orb's path, stored away his rifle, and reached for the beam boomerang on his left shoulder with his right hand. "Yeah, that's a sign of a man who wanted to bring down Logos!" Those words stung like a wasp in Shinn's mind, causing his eyes to widen a bit with doubt... doubt of his own resolve. This gave Athrun a chance to perfectly wind up a throw and send his AJ-M77M "Return" Beam Boomerang at Shinn, pressing the attack with a charge directly following his release.

"Err..." Shinn groaned with growing impatience and rising anger as he was slowing being thrown on tilt due to Athrun's talking, just like what happened during Operation Justice. Yes, he was still able to counter Athrun's boomerang with a hasty deflection via the use of his left handed beam shield, all the while reaching for his right "Executioner" Anti-ship Sword, but a quick close in and shield bash combo by Athrun pressed harshly against the Judicator's black phase shift armor and glowing, molten metal frame yet again. A small drop of deep red blood as well as some crystal clear tears found themselves floating between Shinn's face and his helmet's screen.

"From what I can see..."

"Shut it!" Shinn retaliated as he swung the now fully extended anti-ship over his shoulder in an attempt to slice Athrun's suit in half from head to crotch.

"Shinn... I expected a response like that from you." Athrun pulled back slightly to his left and kicked up with his left foot, intercepting the sword and ceasing it's strike, once again locking the two gundams in close quarters combat. "Let me say it again: From what I can see you would prefer to wait around doing nothing until the Alliance makes the next move and countless bodies hit the ground because of you're inaction? Is that what you really want? Is this where your priorities lie?" He directly questioned, his voice becoming even more condescending and deeply conservative by the second, pissing off Shinn.

"Not a chance!" Shinn spat, lifting up his activated sword, pulling it back, rotating it to his left and then punching forward with it at the Crusader with the intent of utilizing it's handle beam. "You couldn't possibly imagine what we're doing here! Kira... and..." His voice began to faint and become more like a crude grunt as he struggled against Athrun's onslaught. His sword crashed into Athrun's shield and pushed the Crusader a few meters away as a result.

"Huh? Not just sitting around? Prove it! So many times in this war ORB's decided that it's precious ideals are only to be praised when it's convient!" Athrun demanded, pulling away and gripping his right beam saber in the backwards fashion with the Crusader's right arm, and then attempted to come at Shinn, who leaned back out of the way and gripped his swords with both hands.

"Dammit..." Shinn struck down with a growling frustration, his blade meeting Athrun's shield again. "This is just what Kira told me about... and what he advised me..."

"OH, KIRA?" Athrun yelled, preparing for his next move with his beam saber. "I thought you said that you wouldn't need his help! So now you're taking his 'advice'?" The Red Knight also shot his right arm up with the beam saber, twisted it inwards, and shoved it into the anti-ship sword's shaft, in the thin, exposed metal shaft between the beams, slicing the blade in two and leaving Shinn both unarmed and shocked, for that was the first time one of his swords had been destroyed. "But maybe you do, considering you use a brutish weapon that is easily broken like that!" Athrun quipped an angry, glaring smirk.

"Grr..." Shinn tossed the remains of the broken Executioner aside and activated both of his beam shields while Athrun pressed his assault, swinging outward with his shield boomerang beams to meet Shinn's right hand shield. "I'm sorry... but you're only proving him right with your NONSENSE!" Shinn roared from the pressure, and Athrun's ears seemed to twitch slightly from hearing this. "WHAT KIRA-"

"Yet you..." Athrun snarked, and now Shinn lost it, as if he snapped right then and there.

"Athrun... JUST... DAMMIT!" Shinn shoved the Judicator's non-SEED mode thrusters as much as he could and overpowered Athrun's engines, pushing the Crusader back against Athrun's will. Shinn's eyes blazed with terror and he although he wanted to reach for some of his weapons and blindly charge right into the salmon colored machine, something in his head clicked, and he stopped for a second. 'No... I won't. I've gotten out of range and I'm faster than him... I'll play it his way... and he won't see it coming.' The slight appearance of a scheming strategist appeared even though Shinn was nearly consumed with anger. Quickly, he turned around, and powered all the forward thrusters of his machine to full and took off into the distance, zig-zagging through several meteors in the process.

"What's he doing?" A perplexed Athrun tried to follow the Judicator until it eventually vanished from his sight range and radar, due to interference. "Damn...!" He shook his head in an angry confusion before turning around and going back to the main battlefield, knowing that even though Shinn was a threat, he wasn't the only mobile suit after his team mates. Still, he would try to keep an eye out for him.

* * *

Girty Lue bridge:

The very atmosphere of the bridge was silent, and calm, yet energized, so that it could rapidly response to anything that came up, both friend and ally.

"Okay, do we have a fix on the position of either the Archangel-class or the Minerva-class ship?" Captain Lee asked, looking out the windows of his bridge to check and see if anything was approaching.

"A few of our mobile suits are engaging the Archangel and two of her mobile suits! Position, four o'clock with a distance of five thousand and accelerating."

"Damn... somewhere behind us." Ian muttered. "Does it look like she intends to flank our stern?"

"Maybe... can't tell if she knows where we are, sir. She's changing course, I'll give you that. Yellow sixty-"

"MINERVA-CLASS VESSEL! DIRECTLY ABOVE OUR FORWARD BOW! Distance: twenty five hundred and closing!" Another crewmen cried over his comrad, and in a flash Ian dished out his orders.

"Hard to port and get us out of her weapon's range!" Suddenly the helmsman jerked the controls to his left and force the asymetrical Girty Lue to it's side.

"It's okay, we were never in the Minerva's line of fire!"

"We we'ren't? Raise bow thirty, get a visual on her!" Lee commanded.

"No... she's trying to get behind another asteroid in the distance!" The radar operator explained, and as soon as the bridge windows were angled enough so that the Minerva could be see, Ian knew that what his subordinate told him made sense.

"Let's shake her loose! All remaining Gottfrieds target the rock that ship is hiding behind..." Ian issued sternly, and the five remaining double beam cannons rotated their main turrets and adjusted their barrels to lock onto one single spot. "Barrage!" A flurry of ten large, bright green rays darted directly for the side of the asteroid, striking dead on their target, causing it both to crumble in some places and be pushed back, faintly revealing the dark red tip of the Minerva's large, starboard wing. "There she is! Accelerate ten percent..." Ian continued, and Girty Lue's engines roared with increased intensity, the ship passing by the rock the Minerva's had originally been spotted from, several red lights blinking off from that location. "... and prepare to..."

"INCOMING! Missiles from starboard!" The radar operator screamed. Meanwhile off in the distance several of the Minerva's Dispars lit up their engines and took off from near the asteroid, their heading a direct collision course with the Girty Lue.

"What the!" Ian turned to his right, the look of an ambushed man glued to his head.

"Intercept! CIWS..." The ship's XO tried to dish out.

"NO! There's no time!" Ian's voice ran over his. "Detach the remaining propellent tank! We'll use it as a shield! Roll seventy to port and turn fifty degrees to port! NOW! NOW! NOW!" Ian directed thought all the confusion as the missiles approached the ship at a high speed. However, things were about to get even more hectic.

"The Archangel has just appeared in our line of sight behind us! Distance: Three thousand at five o'clock! Laser designators and missiles detected from her!" The radar operator warned, and indeed, the white and red vessel was coming up behind the Girty Lue now, with the Colossus and remaining DOM flying alongside it. This DOM had a pair of cannons on it's back,gatling guns over it's shoulder, and a single beam saber on it's backpack.

"DAMMIT! JUST WHAT WE NEED NOW!" Ian shouted with great fury. "Hurry up with that propllent tank, and get the ship out of the way! Maximum engines!" The Captain barked as the vessel detached the large set of containers remaining on it's starboard and turned away from it as quickly as it could. Following that, several missiles from both the Archangel and Minerva closed in, in addition to four double beam cannon shots, two linear cannon blasts, and a large salvo of mobile suit fire, all aimed at the stealth carrier. Then, it all happened at once. All the offensive weaponry seemed to converge on one point, beams struck the missiles and detonated them and the detached tank, causing a colossal, burning bright explosion that was easily as large as the Archangel herself, as well as a powerful shockwave to boot. The resulting burst harshly crushed against Girty Lue's hull, and although it didn't do any noticable damage, the shock accelerated her away even more, giving Lee a chance. "Ugh.. ugh..." He coughed. "Activate Mirage Colloid! NOW! We've got enough speed and cover, so do it!"

* * *

Minerva bridge:

As the explosion subsided, Talia removed her right sleeve from it's position in front of her face and looked out the ship's view to spot the enemy ships, and only finding one. "For Christ's sake! Did they activate their stealth system?"

"I'm looking for them, but it appears that they did. Faint heat signatures but no lock, and that explosion's thermal energy isn't helping either!" Bart answered, keying in some commands on his console all the while.

"We would have had them beat if it wasn't for Westenfluss' interference!" She vented, but calmed down seconds later. "Just stay on your toes then!"

"Well... if I may add, that was a cool move to make, Captain!" Abbey complimented from her station.

"Thank you, but if I'll be honest, it wasn't exactly mine, but I've been told another skilled Captain performed the same stunt here a couple year ago, so that's where the idea came from." Talia replied, the name 'Natarle Badgiruel' coming to her mind, if only for a split second.

"Archangel is closing! She's on us now!" Bart warned as a pair of Gottfried shots flew past the ship's bridge, a blinding green light penetrating the area.

"He wants our attention then..." Talia fumbled with her fingers. "Return the favour!"

"Isolde, fire!" The Executive Officer yelled, and three smaller shots burst towards the larger ship, weaving between it's port fin.

* * *

On the far side of Mendel, where nobody was watching:

A lone, Nazca-class vessel silently arrived near the dock and halted it's movements. On the outerside of the colony, past the exit, several soldiers, wearing pitch black Zaft space uniforms that concealed their faces stood, some equippment packed up by their side. Interestingly enough, there were also two stretcher-like objects near them, but these platforms were intended for use in zero gravity, and thus lacked wheels.

Throughouly strapped to one of these stretchers each, was the unfortunete pair of individuals known as Kira Yamato and Cagalli Yula Attha, each wearing their space suits and from the looks of it, in a state of complete sedation and therefore unaware of what was happening to them. One of the Zaft soldiers then signalled the others with his hands, and they all began to lift off and fly towards the blue Nazca-class at steady speeds using their backpacks, carrying the two stretchers with them. As they approached the large vessel, the cargo door on it's underside opened up wide and the men entered the ship's hanger bay, where several Zaft grunts suits awaited idealy. Finally, the carge hatch shut, and the Nazca-class ignited it's engines and began to leave the area.

Meanwhile, in a lone, silent part of the debris field, the ORB-04 Judicator gundam quietly rested with it's back against a well-sized chunk of rock, some explosions taking place behind it in the distance. The gundam had it's one remaining Type-450MS "Executioner" Anti-ship Sword drawn and held tightly across it's body with both hands, the variety of purple and green beam effects lighting up the area alongside the gundam's luminous red and yellow exposed inner frame. Sitting in his panoramic cockpit, Shinn breathed in and out gently, relaxing... calming down. He could not escape the reality of what just happened a few minutes ago in his engagement with Athrun, but at the same time, he felt like he needed some time to think about a few recent memories, and a conversation with a battleborn friend who wasn't with him right now.

* * *

-Flashback-

It was the day after the attempted assassination attempt on Cagalli's life, or rather, the burning evening that marked said day's death. Kira Yamato was outside on one of the balconey's staring off into the distance at the failing sun, the sky behind him darkneing to shades of bruised purple and black. However, also present on the deck was a half empty bottle of beer, which he had been taking infrequent sips of. After all, he was of age and perfectly allowed to take down some alcohol, was he not? Even then, the look on his face was not that of an impared person in any way, rather he seemed to be just taking his time in the silence. Hearing some footsteps, he slowly turned to his right as Shinn approached him, although the look on his face wasn't exactly cheerful, but rather concerned, expressing the desire for answers, if anything.

"So you found me?" Kira started.

"All I had to do was ask the maid... her name..."

"Mana." Kira finished for him.

"Yeah, her." Shinn replied, although it was clear that he was somewhat tired now.

"Okay then, why did you find me?" Kira asked and at those words, Shinn signed and bent his spine forward a little, crashing his arms onto the stone railings and grabbing hold with a sigh.

"I want to ask you about something... how to deal with something... or rather, someone." Shinn grumbled, and Kira raised one of his eyebrows.

"Athrun, right? You can here to talk to me about Athrun, right?" Kira raised his bottle and took a quick, light swig, gulping down the liquid with an audible swallow after.

"Yeah... after what happened yesterday during the battle. I fought him... and I tried to fight him in the same way I battled you, but... he starting talking to me... talking down to me like some vengeful father trying to punish his disobedient son, and even with the Judicator's special SEED functions activated, I still couldn't beat him, because of what he said." Shinn explained, all the while clenching his right fist and deepening his tone, slowly getting riled up at the very thought of remembering Athrun's words. "Have you ever..."

"I was there, Shinn, I saw the entire battle and overheard your struggle, so I know what you mean. That, and I commend you for coming to see me, especially if you're going to be facing Athrun in the future."

"Really?" Shinn blinked twice, once after the other.

"Yes, because you just experienced what every skilled mobile suit pilot does... when they face Athrun Zala in combat." Kira turned and faced Shinn, and pointed at him with his right first finger. "You have a way with words when you talk and fight, even when you're conversing off of the battlefield. To many, it's seen as rude and obnoxious." Kira stated with extreme emphasis. Shinn's face then began to crackle slightly, his mood becoming angry in a snap.

"HEY! I don't do it on purpose, it's _who I am!_" Shinn yelled, striking forward with his left hand to try and catch Kira's arm, but the Ultimate Coordinator was too quick and pulled back, leaving Shinn disgruntled with failure. "Lucky..." He grumbled, and Kira took another sip of his drink.

"Thing is, Shinn, Athrun has a _similar _problem, you see."

"Pah..." Shinn crossed his arms with pride.

"Like you, he'll get angry, which is understandable, everyone can when they're fighting. But, unlike you, he won't become enraged and focused on defeating his foe. Rather, Athrun Zala has a perchant for trying to expose any flaws in his opponents actions during the conflict. A habit of talking down to them, telling them why they're wrong and why he's the one who's right and that they should listen to him as a result." Kira explained. "Because obviously, he has all the answers and is near infallible." Kira muttered with a cold, bitting sarcasm, tilting his head down and recalling back some memories, even from the depths of their very first encounters.

"_I'm taking you back to the Gamow." Athrun stated with authority, the Aegis holding the Strike in it's clutches as the two teens argued._

"_Get serious! I'm not going to set foot on any Zaft ship!" Kira replied, trying to free the Strike, and finding the task impossible._

"_You ARE coordinator! You're one of us, Kira!" _

"_NO! I won't join Zaft!" _

"_That's **enough **Kira, quiet!" Athrun hissed in dominance, silencing his friend turned foe._

"_Using a rescued civilian as a hostage? Still feel justified in fighting by their side with these **cowards!? Kira?!**" The pilot of the Aegis questioned again, this time, the battle had abruptly ended with Natarle Badgiruel's Ultimatum to Commander Rau Le Creuset, regarding the whereabouts and livelyhood of Lacus Clyne._

The violet eyed brunette could only shake his head in subtle anger and mentally scaring pain. He could think of many of examples, during this war as well as the last, but he wouldn't now.

"Yeah, yeah! I know all about it! Doesn't flaunt around the idea, but I'd say deep inside, Athrun thinks of himself as 'Mr. Holier Then Thou', a man who's sole purpose is to correct the opinions and objectives of those who he disagrees with... takes pride in it too." Shinn spoke, his words both snapping and biting like icy frost on a fiery volcano.

"No, Shinn you're wrong." Kira corrected in blatant disagreement. "Athrun may act that way, but I don't think he does it on purpose."

"Of course he does... sitting on his..."

"SHINN!" Kira deliberately raised his voice. "Remember when you just told me, a second ago that the way you act was because of who you are?"

"I guess so..." Shinn simmered with a tamed, disgruntled growl. At the same time he felt that what Kira was talking about, was something Kira knew full well, and yet didn't want to explain or go into detail with, wishing that what he was telling Shinn was a lie rather than a truth.

"Don't get me wrong, Athrun means for the best. I know he believes in peace and goodness for all, just that he's chosen a different path. His style... so to speak... it's the same with you... with me... with everyone. I may hate Durandal's Destiny Plan with a burning passion but I won't deny that our genes influence us in some ways."

"So then how the hell do I deal with him? What do you do to combat his condescending nature? I saw how you nearly trashed..."

"I cut off the right arm, Shinn." Kira's eyes narrowed a tad, reaching for his drink, and taking another short, sweat sip. "But anyway... I think that... the question you asked... is something you need to decide for yourself, Shinn. If I had to say anything, don't let the ignorance and false assumptions he creates shake reality for you. Keep confident in what you're doing and don't allow him to talk down like that, fight back and tell him how it is." Kira finished, and Shinn rolled his eyes.

"I guess I'll try... that's the least I can do." Shinn replied as the two remained quiet. The evening wind rolled in with a weak breeze, disrupting the hair of both pilots and breathing cold onto their scalps gently. Then, Kira grapsed his bottle and stuck his hand out.

"Want some?" He smiled like a true friend, and yet all Shinn did was step, grin with anger, and question Kira's intentions.

"Are you joking? Insane? I'm only sixteen? You need to be at least eighteen to..."

"SHH!" Kira tried to shut him up. "Take a drop. It's just the two of us right now. As long as neither Cagalli or... dare I say, Captain Gladys learn of this, you're fine, alright?" Kira raised his eyebrows and extended his arm a little further out.

"Yeah..." Shinn put on a smug little grin. "If Gladys found out she would have my head." He reached forward and snagged the bottle's top end and took it. "I've risked my life on the battlefield how many times? So what harm can a little of this do?" He grinned, raised his head and the bottle up and took a healthy, savouring sip. Then, his eyes grew a little, he took his wet lips off of the bottle and suddenly gave it back to Kira, all the while trying to gulp down the liquid, having a hard time. Kira recieved the bottle and smiled like a silent comedian at the raven haired boy while he swallowed ounce by ounce, eventually getting it all down and exhaling deeply. "What the hell is that stuff?"

"It's called Kotei Saki, the only brand Cagalli _allows _to be kept around the place. An acquired taste, trust me."

"Yeah no bloody doubt..." Shinn almost fell against the balcony rail, feeling a little sick, but slowly overcoming that. "Wow that's... just bitter."

"Oh, just wait for the aftertaste..." Kira joked heartily. In front of the two boys, the Sun had now almost completely set in the distance. They would continue to talk though for a while, but to Shinn, that information was irrelevant to his cause.

-End Flashback-

* * *

"Thanks Kira... I think I'll take that to heart, even if he calls me out for listening..." Shinn spoke to himself.

The Judicator still remained in the pose it was before, but now, Shinn had changed, and that change was in his eyes. They weren't crazed with the desire to rush at Athrun full speed ahead with blades wildly flaying about and tell him to shut the hell up with the most powerful booming voice he could muster, but they weren't pleasant in the least either. Rather, they were premiditated, like he was ready to strike. Pressing a few keys on his cockpit controls, several holographic images appeared in front of him, to his right, left and center, all revealing the battlefield, and the struggles taking place, the explosions going off, and the beams blazing through the battlefield.

Most notibly, Stella was still engaged against Rey, and on the backfoot. While neither gundam had suffered damage the barrage of beams from Rey's DRAGOONs was starting to overpower her. She was flayling her beam whip around in an attempt to take them out with a lucky hit, but from what Shinn could see, it was an act of despiration.

"I'm not a man who's going to do nothing, Stella. Don't worry, I'm coming to help. Rey won't hurt you, for I'll keep you safe. However, there's something in my way first." He looked to another image, one of a battle that was closer to him, and saw Athrun, with his beam naginata draw in it's typical fashion, about to engage a Rouge Windam, specifically the one he had damaged earlier. At that sight, the Judicator began to move, it kicked off of the asteroid and made a quick turn around, stepping onto the rock that it had it's back against and starting to rush forward over it, and prepared to spread his pair of red and black wings.

"Eat... this!" The Alliance pilot reached for both of her Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrators and hurled them in the Crusader's direction. Athrun easily countered this by slicing them both in half, one with his beam staff and the other with his right leg beam in a precise backflip.

"You're going to need to do better then that!" The Red Knight fixed onto his target and prepared to dash forward towards her, when his sensors beeped.

"Who's that?" They both questioned at once, looking and to Athrun's right as a pair of fiery red particle wings appeared over one of the rocks, jumped off of it, and belined towards the Crusader with a large, mighty anti-ship sword drawn.

"Shinn..." Athrun tightened his grip and changed his target.

"Athrun!" Shinn continued to fall towards his enemy, preparing to strike down upon him while they set up their own battle within a battle...

* * *

Author's Note:

I know this chapter doesn't accomplish much, if anything, besides some development at the end for Shinn, so I apologize. This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, and feature the entire battle, but I decided to cut it in half for the sake of adding other parts to the next section. If I had wrote it to completion, it would have probably been more like 20k words at the end, and that's something I *do* want to avoid until the final phases this time around. Granted, this epiosde is still at 10k words on my editor now, so that's fine in my book. Don't worry, you'll see what happens next, it's a surprise. Phase 46 isn't going to be only a battle, trust me, there's more to it. **cackles**

So, to bolster this episode and give you guys something, here's the specs for Zaft's DOMs!

* * *

_ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper_

**Name:** DOM Trooper

**Model Number:** ZGMF-XX09T

**Unit Type: **Limited Production Multi-mode Mobile Suit

**Developed From:**

ZGMF-XX08T DOM Soldier

ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom

ZGMF-X19S Crusader

ZGMF-X20S Legacy

ZGMF-X35S Colossus

**Manufactuer:** Integrated Design Bureau

**Overall Height:** 17.48m

**Empty Weight:** 68.75 metric tons

**Maximum Weight:** 89.92 metric tons

**Power-plant:** High Energy Ultracompact Battery

**Accomodation:** Pilot only, cockpit in torso

**Fixed/Standard Armaments:**

MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator x 2

MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS x 2

G14X3IZ "Screaming Nimbus" Scattering Beam Gun

_Warlock Packs:_

**ε Patriot Warlock Pack**

-MA-X848HD Enhanced Large Beam Saber

-JPS36X Giga-Launcher DR1 Multiplex

Notes: The first of the four Warlock Packs for the DOM Trooper, deriving it's armaments directly from the DOM Soldier it was developed from. Although this pack carries less armaments than the others, it is the quickest of the four and the lightest. It's Enhanced Large Beam Saber is as long as an anti-ship sword, and it's DR1 Multiplex is capable of firing both high explosive bazooka rounds as well as standard beam rifle shots.

**λ Zealous Warlock Pack**

-MPAJ-001S "Wenig Abwehr" Combined Shield

-MMR-03 Beam Shield Generator

-MBE-08 "Solid Knochen" Fixed Beam Blade

-MA-987 "Duel Lacerta" Beam Naginata

-MP-323 "Hypo Fortis" Beam Cannon x 2

Notes: The second Warlock Pack developed. Inherits it's function from the armaments mounted on Athrun Zala's ZGMF-X19S Crusader gundam. Places second in both speed and weight. The shield covering the left forearm overtop of it's standard "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator is capable of generating a beam shield that is almost 50% larger than the standard, and is equipped with a fixed blade for close combat alongside it's "Duel Lacerta" Beam Naginata, giving the Zealous DOM Trooper the edge in CQC. For ranged battles, a pair of "Hypo Fortis" Beam Cannons are mounted over the unit's shoulder from it's backpack in a similar fashion to the Justice or Crusader's Fatum Beam Cannons.

**θ Lyuda Warlock Pack**

-MBG-881 "Ruinstrum" Beam Gatling gun x 2

-MBS-09 "Laceta" Beam Saber

-MBC-892 "Orthos Mk.2" Beam cannon x 2

-Dedicated High Energy Battery Unit

Note: Third pack developed for the ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper, taking many notes from the ZGMF-X35S Colossus, Lunamaria Hawke's mobile suit. Dedicated High Energy Battery Unit mounted on Warlock Pack powers the "Orthos Mk.2" Beam cannons, giving the suit prolonged combat time. This unit is the slowest and heaviest of the four, but also packs the most punch. While it's limited melee capabilites in the form of only one regular beam saber may inhibit the unit's power, it's pair of beam cannons more then make up for it, as they are powerful enough to inflict serious damage to even battleships if not outright sink them.

**Ω Achilles Warlock Pack**

-Small L-DRAGOON x 5

-DBC-453 Linear Gun

-Large L-DRAGOON x 1

-DBC-453 Linear Gun x 2

-DBB-642 Beam Spike x 3

-MMN-038 "Chibi Reinigen" Beam Rifle x 2

-Dedicated High Energy Battery Unit

Note: Final Warlock Pack developed for the state of the art DOM Trooper. Meant to transform the DOM into a scaled down, mass production version of the ZGMF-X20S Legacy, piloted by FAITH Elite Rey Za Burrel. As such it features a variant of the DRAGOON system: The L-DRAGOON system, which includes improvements to the quantum interface, allowing the L-DRAGOONs to be operated by anyone. However, this also means that the Warlock Pack cannot equip as many L-DRAGOONs as the Legacy could equip DRAGOONs, and that it's L-DRAGOONs have reduced speed and mobility when compared to the Legacy's. A Dedicated High Energy Battery Unit is stored onto the backpack like the θ Lyuda Warlock Pack for the sake of increasing operating time, as the L-DRAGOONs are strictly recharged by it, not by the suit's main battery. Despite this, the L-DRAGOONs are equipped with Linear Guns as opposed to beam cannons, to cut production costs in the manufacteruing process as well as energy costs on the battlefield. The only downside to this Warlock Pack is that due to weight and cost limitations, it does not possess any hand held close combat weapons whatsoever.


	17. Phase 46: Turning the Tables

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny

* * *

Fireminer: The DOM specs weren't listed in the data given in Phase 43, so their information is new. The Achillies pack doesn't have any melee weapons because that would defeat the purpose of it's name... Thanks for adding this series to a KxC C2 though.

* * *

Now, continuing:

Location: Mendel Colony Asteroid Field

Time: Between eleven hundred and twelve hundred hours

Date: February 3rd, CE 74

The ORB-04 Judicator gundam sliced downwards with it's anti-ship sword and then swung its entire body around in a three hundred and sixty degree circle, sending two consecutive beam orbs directly for the Crusader. With speed, Athrun backed away from the second orb's path and deflected the first one with a bash of his shield, and Shinn closed in. "Did you miss me?" The younger pilot questioned

"Not at all, but I guess now I'll have to accommodate." Athrun answered, shooting at Shinn with his two beam cannons.  
"Good to know that!" Shinn cheered with a heavy, incredibly sarcastic joy, evading Athrun's attack in the process. Meanwhile. The from earlier stood by in the distance and backed away, it's pilot holding a look of contempt for both gundam pilots as they outright ignored her and focused on each other decisively.

"Those two bastards, I'll let them go at it... for now..." She mumbled to herself, hiding behind an asteroid.

"So how's Kira's advice going for you?" Athrun, questioned, clearly upset as he bent the Crusader's back forward and launched it's Fatum-10 Sublight Lifter, folding it's nose forward and powered on all beams. "Were you just told to follow Cagalli and ORB's ideals no matter what the situation or consequences may be?" He asked with a sharp tongue.

"No, actually Cagalli's been reconsidering ORB's ideals during this war, funnily enough." Shinn mentioned with a quiet laugh, back flipping over the lifter as it tried to impale him. "I just have you figured out, that's all!" The Judicator swung down horizontally from it's right with it's large sword, crashing against the forward end of Athrun's beam naginata.

"Isn't it a bit cocky to to think that you can just 'decode' someone simply by listening to the advice of a thirty party? Doesn't that matter to you, right? Is that it?" Athrun questioned again, the Fatum-10 making a loop back around while the Crusader stuck it's left arm forward and prepare to launch it's grapple stinger from it's shield.

"Athrun, I'll concede that you're partially right!" Shinn grumbled, spotting the lifter coming for his back flank and turning around to counter, the volume of his voice rising, but his tone more controlled. "You would actually be dead on, bulls eye correct if you weren't proving me right at the same time!" He yelled, bending his blade upwards and behind at an angle, so that when the lifter hit it, it's wing was deflected up the anti-ship sword's shaft, forcing the entire glider to rush up and over the Judicator.

"Really? I guess all that time with Kira is making you turn out like him, it seems!" Athrun stated with crude bluntness, launching his grapple stinger at the Judicator, however just before the weapon reached the black gundams knee and clamped around it, a green beam shot out of nowhere and severed it's hook off. 'What was that? A stray shot from Rey?' Athrun pondered, trying to find a nearby target in the distance, but seeing no one but Shinn.

"Oh that's bullshit and you know it!" Shinn yelled, facing his opponent again as the Fatum-10 docked to the Crusader's body. "If Kira wasn't the one fighting you right now he would just shrug you off and tell you like it is!" He growled, fixing onto his opponents machine and preparing to come at him with wings of light flooding the area behind him.

"Tell me like it is! What a joke!"At the same time Athrun did the same and prepared himself for harsh close quarters combat, ignoring what had happened a few seconds ago for the greater threat.

"It's no joke! I'm not as nice as him on the battlefield though! That just isn't 'me'!" The two raging, teeth grinding warriors came at one another and clashed blades, two large, white streaks of lighting ejecting away from the point where their beams met. They both turned around and came at each other again, trying to get the upper hand.

"I'm going to take you both out!" A third, feminine voice yelped over the line with smug satisfaction. There was a mere distance of fifty meters separating the Crusader and Judicator as both pilots were forced to break off their attack. A powerful beam cannon shot came for Shinn, and he ducked under it, while a combined rail gun and beam rifle salvo targeted Athrun, and the Red Knight backed away from it, and both of their grins turned to expressions of dumbfounds.

"Again?" Athrun questioned, looking to the shots origin.

"The hell?" Shinn did the same, and so there they found that the Rouge Windam Shinn had damaged earlier, trying desperately to get behind the meteor it had used as cover before, but Athrun would have none of that.  
"You're the one!" He reached for the remaining beam boomerang on his right shoulder with his shield hand. "Not this time!" He yelled with fury, sending the spinning, glowing projectile towards the Windam, where it spun in an arc and followed her behind, an explosion taking place behind the rock. "Got it!" Athrun spoke to himself.

"And I got you!" At the sound of Shinn's attacking voice, the Crusader's warning sensors bliped to life, the Judicator continuing back on it's path, ready to strike down again. Although he was taken by surprise, Athrun wasn't going to be defeated so easily. With a quick reflex of his controls he tried to swipe upwards with his beam naginata as Shinn cut inwards from the side and although he was successful in avoiding damage, the Crusader's arm was bent back into a completely straight position as a result.

"Not a chance, Shinn!" Athrun roared back at the younger pilot, the two machines remaining in the same pose with locked blades.

"Is that so?" Shinn questioned the Zaft pilot with a snide smirk, the Judicator's head tilting slightly to the Crusader's right, prompting Athrun to look, and open his eyes in wide horror as he noticed the right wing of his Fatum-10 lifter severed and floating in space on it's own, a glowing beam cut mark formed along it's severed edge.

"How in the?" Athrun quickly took a glance behind him, observing that when Shinn's blade struck down on his combined saber, it forced the blade back to such an extends that it tore the wing clean off.

"Then again, even if you are right, it's better that I end up like Kira then like a man who usually fights with a sword that's likely to damage his own suit!" Shinn bellowed with success and a little bit of pride, taking advantage of Athrun's slight shock and using it to kick the Crusader in the abdomen and force it back, pointing the tip of his blade directly forward and preparing to charge in for the kill, the purple beam tip of Judicator's sword ignited and ready. "NOW IS THE TIME!" The thrusters on the back of the feet and backpack of his machine powered up and allowed him to race forward.

"FOR THE PRESERVATION OF OUR BLUE AND PURE WORLD!" The voice of the female Alliance soldier stated as she came in from Shinn's right with her own anti-ship sword.

"Huh?" Shinn gasped, unnaturally cocking his eyebrows and batting his own sword to the right, intercepting the Windam's as tried to cut him in half. "YOU?"

"Ugh..." Athrun recovered, and shook his head, breathing in a little heavier then normal. "You're _not_ dead?"

"You destroyed my rifle, jackass!" The Windam pilot scoffed. She was right though, for upon further inspection, the Windam's beam rifle was now missing.

"Even she thinks you're an ass, Athrun!" Shinn smirked and Athrun sighed, the red eyed teen looking back at the Windam with a killing glare. "And I'll destroy you!" Shinn answered, backing off and then bouncing back, swinging his sword forward with such force that as soon as it met the Windam's, it pushed the Earth Forces machine back and away, overpowering it's thrusters completely.

"Ugh..." The female pilot groaned from the g-forces, bracing herself while Shinn tried to go in for the finish. However, the Windam pilot pushed upwards on her thrusters, the engines on her mock I.W.S.P. Pack going to full and causing her to ascend. Meanwhile Athrun tried to lock onto both of them with his beam cannons and beam rifle and fired.

"Dammit! Athrun!" Shinn growled, stopping in the air in order to block the shots with his left beam shield and then trying to get a fix on the Windam, when his console started to go off again. "What?" He looked down to the main screen for a second, noticing a written message. "What? Now? Err... fine then!" The Judicator swerved and rolled away, it's pilot dissatisfied that he couldn't take out either of his targets, but ordered to set a course towards another area of the battlefield, which was more intense as beams blinked in an out of existence, flying all over the place.

"SHINN!" Athrun called out with anger, following the Judicator for a second, but then ascending away in order to not get hit by a beam cannon and rail cannon blast. "Alright..." He looked towards the Windam with a heavy, disgruntled expression. "You want my attention? Now you got it!" A green SEED burst into a thousand glittering sparks inside his eyes as he came at the mass production model, which struck down with it's "Schwert Gewehr IV" 18.23m Anti-ship Sword as Athrun swung up with his beam naginata. In the blink of an eye the two machines came and went through each other, the Windam's sword breaking at the hilt, just under it's beam emitter in a snap, leaving the female pilot worse for wear, a look of complete and utter disbelief nailed to her face.

"How did..." The Alliance pilot questioned in a complete state of shock as one of the beam boomerangs from Athrun's shield went through her unit's body from the back and came out through the front, cleanly slicing it in half before making a circular turn back and being caught by the Crusader itself, which docked it onto it's shield.

"Justice itself will find you, wherever you hide." Athrun stated impartially, turning around and following Shinn.

* * *

"You... you're just lucky!" Stella growled in a frustrated state of discomfort and anger. The silver gundam quickly performed several moves which included rotating it's position and aiming it's shield, and each time it stopped in space, it would fire off a pair of shots from the eye sockets of it's physical buckler at the DRAGOONs, but all would miss. "If Kira or Cagalli were here, they'd put a stop to this!"

"But they're not, so deal with it." Rey replied with calm control, a very small and hardly noticeable smirk cracking through his otherwise solid visage of rock.

"RAR!" Stella screeched, activating her beam whip and flicking it at the Legacy with lightning speed, the tip of the beam striking one of Rey's energy shields and shoving him back a tad. "I'll just...!" She followed up with a swift close in, the engines on the wing tips, thruster pack, and legs of the Demoness flowing with power. Once she got in short range the Extended executed a spinning slice with the scythe end of her staff, performing multiple whirlwinds in an attempt to finish off Rey. However, as Stella's rotations continued, and the purple beam on the end of her staff blurred around in a circle, something clicked in Rey's head. A memory, from Operation Justice:

_"Stop playing games, Rey!" Once Shinn recovered, he came right back, swinging upwards diagonally with his anti-ship sword while Rey tried to guard with his beam shield._

_"I will, if you come back with us. This is your only..." Rey offered, interrupting himself in shock as Shinn swung down. For some reason, despite the fact that he had activated the beam shield on his right arm, the purple beam on the Judicator, when it hit the beam, overpowered it and went right through it, slicing the entire generator in half, but luckily not damaging the arm below, too much._

'No...' The Legacy's pilot resolved, pulling back away and powering down his shields, knowing that they would do little to help him. All the thrusters on his suit, including the ones that had been freed up due to the launch of his DRAGOONs, activated, giving him an enormous burst forward as he flew over Stella's head and tried to get behind her suit, surrounding the Demoness with DRAGOONs.

"Huh?" Feeling nothing but a slight dizzy sensation, Stella came out of her vortex, her rotation slowing down as the pods began to open fire. "Oh NO!" She panicked and ascended away, evading most of the beams, although one of them made contact with her right leg thruster, causing a scraping beam burn. To top it all off, Rey was now in front of her, ready to fire way with Rail guns activated and extended, beam rifle sights locked on, and his chest cannon charging to fire. With a quick 'ugh' she pulled both wings on front of the Demoness' front and activated their array of shields just as Rey pulled his triggers and send his loaded salvo for her, the five attacks contacting the shield, transferring a vast amount of kinetic energy into the Demoness, and knocking it back. "Arrr..." Stella cried in pain, a tear falling from her tightly shut right eye in the process as she spun out of control.

"STELLA!" Shinn called out with deep emotional concern, weaving his way through the dangerous net of DRAGOON fire being channeled into existence by the Legacy. He ducked through several beams and rose above some more. With a corkscrew he found himself finally approaching his target, Stella's Demoness. Stretching out the Judicator's left hand he took hold of her staff and pulled the metallic gundam on closer to his own, ceasing it's spin.

"Shinn..." Stella exhaled, breathing in a little easier, the feelings of stress and the pains of battle seemed to subside to a degree as she looked at the Judicator, knowing who was inside. She felt safe, calmed herself slightly, and she felt a small fragment of heat rise in her chest at the same time, just by looking at the black gundam.

"You're unharmed... good..." Shinn responded, feeling very relieved by the girl's current, healthy condition. His eyelids felt like they were about to soften and his breath was a second away from relaxing to an ideal stage, yet he was denied, for a split second latter, a beam rifle shot flew towards him, aimed at his cockpit, only to be intercepted by a quick raise of one beam shield. "Rey..." Shinn grunted, observing the gray gundam off in the distance. A single Noir Windam came up behind the Legacy and pulled out the anti-ship sword from it's left wing, in hopes of coming at Rey from behind. Without even looking through, two small DRAGOONs and one large one surrounded the Windam and bombarded it with fire, catching it off guard and instantly obliterating it before returning and docking back to their mother unit, one by one.

"Shinn..." Stella whispered in a low voice, and Shinn stuck his head forward, putting pressure on his restraints.

"Rey! What do you think a man who's life has no meaning would be doing out here? Clearly, I have to have some sort of purpose, don't you think?" Shinn questioned with an aggressive boom to his voice.

"I'd rather not make false assumptions about the matter..." Rey answered, making a slight 'hmm' noise as he turned to his right, and then quickly backed off to avoid a beam rifle shot coming his way. "This one..." He raised his right rifle and fired at the approaching mobile suit, a Byakko, in Waverider Mode, coming at high speeds. The ORB mobile suit banked out of the way and then aligned it's nose up to the Legacy again and shot another beam from it's dorsal cannon.

"Lieutenant Baba?" Shinn questioned, looking on ahead to the approaching suit whistled towards Shinn and Stella, transforming into it's mobile suit mode as it reached them.

"Stay on your toes and keep moving! There's another following me!" The Lieutenant breathed in heavily, pointing to the direction he came from as another machine, the Achillies DOM Trooper, approached and reached the Legacy gundam. Seeing this, all three pilots split up and began to make moves to avoid the coming DRAGOON storm.

"Alright, you ordered me to come back to Stella, why?" Shinn questioned, blocking a beam rifle shot from Rey. Baba's Byakko then took position in front of him and fired both of his own rifles at Rey.

"Simple, these guys are their worst offenders. Takito and Kalur were having trouble with their stealth machine, but they managed to force one of his grenades and now he's in stealth. I'm having them come back to try and deal with the smaller suit..."

"The DOM." Shinn cut in.

"Yeah. Ensign Loussier thinks she can have better luck taking on their gundam with your help." The Byakko looked towards the Judicator, optics to optics.

"Done." Shinn answered confidently, nodding slightly as he did.

"Good..." The Lieutenant began, and both suits broke away to evade a multi-phase cannon shot from Rey. Then, they either switched back into their flier form or opened their wings of light wide open and shot away into the distance. The Byakko quickly made way towards the DOM and started to kite it away from the Legacy while another Byakko and an Ootsukigata approached from a distance.

"Okay Stella, what kind of idea do you have?" Shinn questioned, pulling up alongside the Skylord Demoness.

"Just watch... and move out of the way when necessary!" She smiled.

"Ugh... WHAT? That's your PLAN?" Shinn questioned with bug eyes.

"Yeah... sorry..." The blonde lowered her head and voice in depression. Shinn knew he had upset her, and personally felt bad because of it.

"It's alright..." He spoke with sincerity, and then her head rose.

"Good!" She giggled, firing at Rey as the two flew in formation. "You just... distract him! We'll get him... eh... together!" She cheered, causing Shinn to smile in approval. The Judicator then ducked away and stored it's one remaining Executioner, for Shinn knew that it would only get in the way activated against Rey's barrage, and he was better countering with two hands ready for energy orbs.

"For a man afraid to make false assumptions, you sure were rather staunch in your statements against me back on Earth!" Shinn yelled, forming an energy orb in either main hand and chucking both of them towards Rey.

"Well..." Rey gently side stepped out of the way of the first orb, raised his right beam shield and deflected the second one away. The blonde male remained silent though, trying to back away from the Judicator in preparation for his next move. Shinn knew what was coming, and with his fingers at the ready, he waited. Then, all twelve of the Legacy's pods shot off of it's body and backpack at lightning quick speeds, coming towards the Judicator in a formation very similar to weights on a fishing net surrounded their target. "I know that as a soldier of Zaft..." Rey spoke with his usual tone and expression of an emotionless stone statue, forcing the DRAGOONs to attack while they surrounded the closing Judicator. With a quick flip Shinn turned upside down and then bent his legs upwards, dodging through several beams like a quick criminal avoiding gunfire.

While grunting though, he found it necessary to interrupt his opponent. "... soldier of Zaft and Durandal's greatest _sycophant_..." He shouted, swerving threw some more fire and even dodging past a large DRAGOON that had it's beam spike at the ready.

"So in order to be a sycophant all one must do is carry out the duty of protecting their nation? Your logic is deeply flawed, _deceiver._" Rey continued his barrage, an endless wave of DRAGOON fire suppressing Shinn. Finally, while the Judicator spun around several beams, Rey stopped in mid air, aimed ahead of Shinn's location and launched a pair of kinetic shots from his RL-532 "Xiphias Drei" Rail Cannons.

"Deciev..." Shinn growled, loosening his grip on focus for a split second and allowing one of the yellow gun rounds to hit him, impacting the Judicator's right leg on the outward side, throwing the gundam off. 'Don't... let that happen again...' He straightened himself out and shook his head to clear his mind. When he opened his red eyes the first thing he noticed was one of the small DRAGOONs coming in front of him and stopping, a green spark appearing from on of it's barrels. Focusing his attention on that pod for a second, Shinn prepared himself as the shot was fired, and reached for the beam saber on his bottom left knee. "How noble of you!" In a flash he withdrew the saber upwards and sliced the space in front of his torso, his weapon's blade slicing the beam fire in half right, canceling it out right. "So how the hell does attacking us out in the middle of the Mendel Colony do you any good?" He questioned, making sure to be a bit rude in his execution, coming for Rey as the DRAGOONs started to retreat.

"It's very simple, actually." Rey answered, placing all of his DRAGOONs in position between the two fast moving gundams and firing them all at once, forming a large, messy web of green lasers between the Legacy and Judicator that was so tight Shinn couldn't hope to pass through it and get at Rey, so he twisted to the left. Although he was unable to get into close quarters where the Judicator accelerated, Shinn was content with flying circles around the Legacy for now. He trusted Stella, and he would be ready for whatever she had in mind. For now, he would placate Rey's voice. "The vessel that took part in the October 2nd theft has now returned and is facing off against the Archangel and Minerva right now. Tell me, with how closely we are to Armory One, would Zaft not be justified in securing it's borders to prevent something like that from happening again?" The blonde pulled the trigger on both of his beam rifles at Shinn.

"Err..." Growling, the Judicator's pilot straightened out his machine and faced Rey, dodged one attack and blocked the other with his shield. "Learning from your mistakes... I know the same feeling of accomplishment!" He formed and threw and energy orb out of his right hand with power, the ball spinning towards the Legacy on course. "That Alliance vessel was cloaked! You're close to Durandal and I'm certain he has something to do with this so fess up if you dare!" Shinn powered forward, back on course towards Rey as several DRAGOONs shot his projectile and forced it off course.

"I'm not a liberty to discuss such a matter! It's top secret, you see!" Rey warned, brandishing one of his beam sabers with his right arm and swinging it downwards, where it met Shinn's and sparks flew.

"Something that involves the Destiny Plan no doubt!" Shinn raged with deep contempt. "Would be easier to implement if those who would say no aren't around!" The DRAGOONs closed in again, and forced Shinn to break away from melee as they lit up the area in front of the Judicator.

"You're close..." Rey added, surrounding the Judicator with his DRAGOONs and suppressing him again and all the while Shinn threw several energy orbs at them, and they all missed. "Let's just say our method of finding you had something..."

"SHINN!" A loud, crying, and emotional voice echoed in from the distance and overpowered Rey's low, dull one. In the time that it takes the human eye to blink once the Demoness had arrived on the field of battle with a snap. While the DRAGOONs were evading and aiming at the Judicator, Stella launched her beam whip out of nowhere and aimed for them, the large ray of light streaking across the space and slicing two of the small DRAGOONs in half, obliterating them.

"Stella?" Shinn called out, heading towards the machine that had just interrupted his battle.

"I guess you're condemned to the ignorance of love..." Rey groaned, calling all of his DRAGOONs back, their energy nearly depleted.

"No! Not me! He's blowing the return whistle!" Stella pointed towards the Legacy as Shinn neared her.

"Huh? Right!" His eyelids clenched as he turned around and flew away about fifty meters, slicing downwards with his beam saber onto one of the large, retreating DRAGOONs. "Hah!" Shinn smirked, winding up a fresh energy orb and unleashing at another of the retreating pods, while Stella waved her whip around, the two weapons on course to meet their targets...

… until a pair of beam blades appeared from nowhere and swiped through the blackness, pushing both weapons away with a lightning crackle that was soon replaced by the ZGMF-X70S Assassin gundam. "Not so fast..." Heine stuck suit's right first finger out and wiggled it as a tease.

"Heine... finally..." Rey stated in a boring voice as all of his pods docked, although the ones that were missing belonged to his rear skirt armor and right shoulder.

"Well... well... well... looks like it's two on two now..." Heine chuckled slightly.

"We'll show..." Shinn began, but forced himself to the side in order to evade a pair of shots from behind, coming from the Crusader gundam. "You..." He locked his teeth together with hatred. "Athrun..." The two ORB pilots and three Zaft Aces each prepared to continue fighting.

* * *

ORB Union Izumo-class Battleship Tsukyomi:

A large fleet, consisting of mainly ORB vessels, alongside several Earth Forces ships of mixed variety sailed through the dark quietness of space at high speeds in unison. Among this fleet was the augmented Susano, an Izumo-class battleship outfitted with a large 'All Canceler' disk that was even capable of deflecting gamma ray blasts, as proven during the Second Battle of Aprillius One. However, it was not the star of the show, for the fleet was surrounding a very large, hollow, cylindrical object; a section of an O'Neill colony that was cruising through space via a plethora of engines attached onto it's outer side. Inside the bridge of this fleet's flagship, the Tsukyomi, Yuna Roma Seiran sat quietly in the Captain's Chair, humming to himself.

"Ohh... it wiiillllll ooooonnnnlllllyy beeeeeeee aaaaa sshhhhhoooorrrtttt wwwwwhhhhiiillllee..." The purple haired man sat up in his chair. "Until we reaaachhh our destination... ation... ation... ation." He sung to himself, although in a rather annoying and broken singing voice that resembled a dying cow taking it's last breaths more then anything. Needless to say, while the soldiers humbly working away at the bridge were quiet, there were many expressions of deep discomfort plastered below their brows. "How long until we get there?" Yuna questioned, smacking long, flexible plastic stick gently against his left palm and catching it.

"It should be no greater then twenty five minutes, sir..." An officer who was standing nearby with his hands behind his back stated aloud.

"Ah, good. Right on schedule, and with no trouble in sight! We'll bring this thing to it's designated coordinates and watch as our good friends back on the Moon pull the trigger, with or without Djibril. Then, we'll leave. No problem." Yuna stated, expressing a sigh of bliss and relief. However, he was the only one to feel these sensations, for the rest of the bridge crew seemed to scowl, assuming they weren't already casting sour looks.

"Lord Yuna, may I ask... are they really... seriously going to fire this? If they are, is it going to be just a warning shot... or something more?" The standing officer questioned, turning to his superior with a stern look. Facing such a glare, Yuna sunk a little into his seat for a moment, and then came forward with a questionable expression of pride.

"Well, of course! And no, there will be no warning shots! We fire it once... and then those Mary Sues back at the PLANTs will be all over us. This is going to be for real, that's for sure!" Yuna explained, raising his eyebrows in excitement.

"Okay then..." The officer narrowed his eyes and turned away, facing the front of the room. Yuna felt offended by this though.

"What? Captain Retzi, you should be happy to hear something like that!" Yuna tried to cheer the man up, yet he remained silent. With a growl, Yuna stood up. "Speak to your superiors when they are talking to you!"

"Yes..." Retzi turned around and faced Yuna again. He was a bit taller then Yuna, by about an inch, and had a short fur of bone white hair on top of his head and killer blue eyes to boot. To make matters worse, his cheeks had started to retreat into his face, which made him look somewhat like a skeleton with skin on it, although just a tad. From the general vibe this man gave off, he was a long standing member of ORB's Military, longer standing then even the late Captain Todaka.

"Ugh..." Yuna tried to concentrate. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"You wanted me to be happy, yet I fail to see why I should." Retzi crossed his arms.

"Well... we went through all the trouble it takes to get here, for starters! To do that with no trouble should be an accomplishment! Secondly... it's a sign of our strength! It's a sign of how strident we are with our principles! The government of ORB has had a respectable line of leaders who have been strong and connected to their principles and standards, to never compromise on them no matter what! That is the mark of a true, strong leader!" Yuna explained throughout the bridge, and although some of the crew members did lighten their smiles a little, they were all still upset by the looks of it. Retzi, on the other hand, tilted his head down by a couple of degrees.

"I see..." The Captain spoke, his voice very low, hard to hear, but yet very rigid nonetheless.

"Ah..." Yuna relaxed and turned to face the front of the bridge, walking forward a little. "Well, our allies in the Earth Forces have spent many hours working on the construction of this device and have dumped trillions of dollars onto it in order to ensure it happens, so its time we played our part then, don't you agree? Unlike our line of leaders, there are too many soft politicians in this world right now, and that's a problem. People like the President of the Atlantic Federation of the Chancellor of Eurasia... they say these things are necessary but when the time comes to pull the trigger, they do nothing. A lack of courage, you see!" He turned to face Retzi. "That, Captain, will not happen this time around. Marvelous, don't you think?"

"And all of this is for the purpose of protecting ourselves, correct?" Retzi inquired.

"But of course..."

"You basically regurgitated Lord Djibril's own words right there, for the most part, Commander and Chief." Retzi stated, causing Yuna to jump a little bit at surprise, float towards the roof, and then try and push himself down.

"What? No..." Yuna complained, falling back down. "Well, maybe some of it... we did have a very serious discussion regarding the state of the world on our way to the Moon, though."

"Let me just be blunt, Lord Yuna, if Lady Cagalli, Lord Uzumi, or even your father, Lord Yanata knew of what we were doing right now, would they approve? After all, we've received little information from the homeland ever since Zaft invaded ORB and was pushed back, and I haven't heard our governments stance on this issue yet. That has me bothered, to be frank."

"Ugh..." Yuna took a step back. "Don't be worried, Captain. I've already talked to the ones in charge down on Earth... everything is going according to plan." His cheeks blushed with a lie.

"Are you sure, Milord? I mean, aren't fifty percent of our people coordinators anyway? Even some of the soldiers in this very room are coordinators, yet you're going through with this... and I'm pretty sure that neither Lady Cagalli or even your father would approve of Lord Djibril's next action." Retzi stepped forward a little, his tone one that was not joking around.

"Well... ugh... that... JUST DOESN'T MATTER!" Yuna raised his voice slightly as beads of sweat rolled down his face. "Listen... you're soldiers... so carry out your orders! We'll get this done, get back, and then we'll all have... eh... tequila... or... something... to celebrate!" The purple haired Prince took his seat again and crossed his arms in a pout. Observing this, Retzi turned away and shook his head with a look of pure disgust... a look that was reflected on the vast majority of ORB's soldiers in the fleet.

"So long as it is the will of our leaders..." Retzi commented, maintaining a few seconds of silence until the radar began to beep.

"Hang on... I'm picking something up! Matching IFF codes..." The radar operator turned towards Captain Retzi, his expression that of urgency itself. "Captain, we have several Zaft vessels approaching from twelve o'clock! Identified as Nazca and Laurasia-class ships!"

"What? Oh... now of all..." Yuna complained.

"Roger that! All hands to battle stations! Prepare the fleet for combat and ready our mobile suit teams!" Captain Retzi ordered, and with that, the combined fleet prepped themselves for a coming battle...

* * *

Back to the battle at Mendel:

The Archangel's one and only Achilles DOM Trooper reversed it's thrust, ascended, and deployed all six of it's L-DRAGOONs, the small weapon pods racing around the area both an ORB Ootsukigata and ORB Byakko, piloted by Takito and Kalur respectively, spun around each other in a Waverider formation, each taking a shot at the DOM.

"Heads up!" Takito warned, breaking formation and turning to his right while three of the smaller L-DRAGOONs chased him.

"Yeah, I'm not blind!" Kalur copied with a slight, bitter temperament while the remaining pods tailed him. In a flash the snow white and pitch black mobile suit curved around and behind an asteroid in it's mobile armor mode and quickly emerged from the other side, now in mobile suit mode and with both of it's beam rifles at the ready, locking onto target. "Special tactics!" Kalur roared with pride, simultaneously igniting a pair of ranged beams from each gun that each blazed towards on of the L-DRAGOONs. Kalur's pride was for naught in the end, for both of the small remote pods danced out of the way, although their speed was noticeably lower then the Legacy's. "Huh? Oh..." His smile melted into a frown almost instantly, several linear gun shots aimed for him and closing fast. With the same velocity that his ego had when it disappeared, Kalur moved to his right and raised both of his arm shields up high, either dodging or blocking the hits, but being crudely pushed back in the process. To make matters worse, the large L-DRAGOON that had been following activated it's beam spikes and came for him dead on. Moving downwards, he evaded the spike, but his left handed beam rifle was destroyed as the pod flew over his suits head. "Now I see why the Lieutenant sent us all after this thing... it's tough!"

"Tell... me about... it!" A dizzy Takito commented, flying in several corkscrews while the L-DRAGOONs that were sent after his suit prevented him from getting a clean shot off. To make matters worse, the DOM itself was firing shot after shot from it's own rifles at him.

"You guys are a real challenge! Better then the typical racist EA trash I've fought during this war, but I'll kill you none the less!" The agitated male voice of the DOM's pilot announced, trying at hard as he could to land a successful shot.

"HAH! Those are big words, considering what Kalur's been through!" Takito laughed, trying to circle around the DOM. "Show this bastard why you survived the attack on Lady Cagalli's fleet in the Mediterranean!"

"I'm trying to do just that!" Kalur yelled as he swerved between several asteroids. At the same time Takito's Ootsukigata swooped in and faced the DOM and fired all three of his ranged weapons at it.

"Err..." The DOM's pilot groaned, pulling upwards and raising his right beam shield to block, performing the action very well, until something came from above him. "What the?"

"**AHHHH!**" Lieutenant Baba wailed, flying towards the Achilles DOM from a position directly above it, coming down hard and switching into mobile suit form just before he passed under the suit, a flash of light and cutting taking place as he did.

"Shiiiiiiitake mushrooms!" The DOM pilot moaned, reversing his thrust to avoid getting cut in half, barely evading Baba's attack, for the most part. "Damn sneak attack!" He threw away the right beam rifle of his suit, which Baba had cut in half with his beam claws.

"Now you know how it feels!" Kalur snickered, performing a complete vertical loop and unleashing all of his "Hayate" Missiles at the L-DRAGOONs, managing to snag one of the smaller ones during it's pilot's confusion.

"Lieutenant!" Takito called out.

"What are you two doing splitting up and getting entangled with this guy? Focus and work or we're all as good as dead! The three of us!" Baba ordered, blocking some CIWS fire from the DOM with his left armed shield, the remaining L-DRAGOONs moving in to dock with their mother unit, allowing the three pilots some breathing room.

"Sir!" Takito answered, closing in.

"Fine!" Kalur growled, doing the same and morphing into mobile suit form.

"Lieutenant, you said the Ensign figured this guy out! Spill it!" Kalur demanded, calibrating the aim on his shoulder-mounted beam cannon and then unleashing it's charge at the distant DOM.

"With pleasure I'll give you the simplified version! That gundam it's mimicking is much more dangerous, hence why we're going to pick off these ugly one eyed Zaft assholes! This one is all around slower and weaker! Let's take it! All go in while he's recharging!" Baba explained, and with that, the three of them went into their Waverider forms and pursued the DOM.

"Dammit, three versus one is unfair! Soren, Devon, over here!" The DOM pilot called out over his radio, trying to buy himself some time.

* * *

"HANG ON! WE'RE DEALING WITH OUR OWN PROBLEMS!" The pilot of the Archangel's Zealous DOM Trooper yelled in anger, striking down with his beam naginata and meeting the anti-ship sword of one of Girty Lue's Noir Windams.

"In the name of George Glenn... he gets the Achilles Pack and is complaining about being outnumbered? Well, I guess we've gotta back him once we finish off these corporatists!" The pilot of the Patriot DOM Trooper complained as he exchanged beam fire with another Noir Windam, the two machines circling each other.

"I suppose so!" The Zealous DOM pilot responded, backing away and raising his shield in anticipation for the Alliance pilot's next move, which was to unfold both of his MAM-M4Q55 Linked Linear Guns and shoot, each hot yellow ball crashing into the DOM's shield and shoving it back. "AH! That hurt!" He complained with a snarl, pushing the button that turned on his G14X3IZ "Screaming Nimbus" Scattering Beam Gun and coming right back at the Noir. A massive pink, flowing 'shield' of beams surrounded the DOM's front side as it went forth, reaching the Noir Windam, and while the black machine reached for it's rifle and fired, the weapon proved no good. As the green beam bullet met the bright pink barrier it was negated, and the DOM sliced the Noir in half with it's naginata, while the scattering gun left many burn marks on the scorched remnants.

"Yeah yeah..." The Patriot DOM pilot yawned, firing a shot out of his bazooka barrel at the machine he was fighting. In response, the Windam hastily reached for one of it's explosive daggers and chucked it at the DOM. However, the bazooka round hit the small knife in close proximity to the Windam and they both exploded, the blast wave's force knocking the dark mobile suit back and giving the DOM pilot enough precious time to aim his weapon, fire land a killing blow on the armored chest with the rifle barrel. "Not a head shot, but good enough!" He verbally patted himself on the back, watching his opponent meet their fiery, explosive end.

* * *

Another pair of Noir Windams bounced between several small meteors, jumping and kicking off of them as they weaved through the sea of rocks, for behind them was a flood of burning destruction followed behind. Several large and intense beams streaked through the vacumm of space, trying to catch up and annihilate the two machines. Luckily enough, the Earth Forces suits were too quick and precise in their navigation, able to dodge and evade these rocks and the debris that followed them as a result of the destruction. Inside the cockpit of Zaft's Lyuda DOM Trooper, the pilot waited patiently, pulling his triggers periodically. He kept targeting the two Windams and let out salvo after salvo from his beam cannons that were slung from his backpack under the DOM's shoulders and then held in hand. Still, he couldn't manage to strike a hit, but that didn't matter.

The pair of Alliance machines continued their evasion patterns, landing on rocks one small moment and then leaping off of them a split second later, until finally they reached a clearing up ahead, where there was no rubble. Seeing nothing on the other side and not bothering to check their radars, they continued, until they hit the clearing.

Out of nowhere, the Colossus, armed with both of it's LC-697C "Schutz" Beam Sabers, appeared, ascended to a height equal to the Windam's flight path, and with the advantage of a surprise at on it's side, cut each Windam in half at the waist, their severed parts flying off into the distance and exploding seconds later.

"Hmmph..." Lunamaria gruffed, placing the two melee weapons back onto their storing racks on her front skirt armor. "Now..."

"I think that's the last of them... that were attacking the ship anyway!" The Lyuda DOM approached the gundam it was based off of and came to a halt.

"Yeah... those two were a pain in the rear for sure! Reminds me of the first time I got designer shampoo in my eyes... ouch that was painful..." She grunted, shaking her head with the discomfort of a bad memory. "Now let's get back to the ship, and hope nothing small is pestering it!" Luna warned, taking off with the DOM into the distance.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Sir, Steven and Lunamaria have finished taking care of those Windams and are reporting back now." Meyrin reported, leaning towards the Captain's Chair.

"Ah, so they've mopped up, and right on time!" Kendan grinned, looking out the front window as the Minerva passed in front of the Archangel's bow, heading towards her port side at high speeds, although she was still quite the distance away. "Have those two go after the Minerva as soon as it's possible! Erin, pressure them with the Valiants! If this works well we may be able to take Gladys out for good!" Kendan clapped with a smirky grin, the Archangel ducking by a few degrees as a triple beam shot from the Minerva's Isolde grazed over the bridge.

"Valiants at the ready!" Erin Dubu called out, and the pair of linear cannons rotated into place. "Fire!" Both cannons launched several burning yellow blasts at the smaller, more compact vessel.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"Eratic evasive maneuvers! Get us out of those cannon's firing range Malik, now!" Talia ordered, the ship itself rising upwards and pulling out of the way as several yellow blasts quickly blitzed over her dorsal section, under her belly, behind her stern and past her bow in the time frame of several seconds, until one of them managed to strike her port side, just behind the catapult door, nearly throwing the crew for a loop. Thankfully, this was the last shot the Archangel could send the Minerva's way until she turned enough to face her.

"Whoa... ah!" Arthur screamed uncontrollably, nearly his head nearly slamming against the console it controlled.

"Arthur, you alright?" Talia questioned, looking at her Executive Officer.

"Uh... no worse for wear, ma'am!"

"Then return fire! We can't just remain on the defensive like this!" She ordered, turning back to the helm. "Malik, bring us alongside her! No closer then five hundred meters though!"

"Yes ma'am!" Malik replied, gritting his teeth together while he steered the ship into direction.

"Neidhardts, fire!" Arthur commanded, launching several space missiles from the vessel's port side missile tubes.

"Ma'am! I have two mobile suits closing in from blue eighteen alpha! The Colossus and another Zaft machine, unable to match to any reliable data!" Abbey shouted.

'Now? Just great?' Talia thought, blinking quickly while she thought of what to do. "Lock port side weapons and fire! Hard to starboard once that's done! Come on, get it done!" She cried out loud.

* * *

"I guard our ship, you take out theirs, good deal?" Steven, the Lyuda DOM's pilot suggested, slanting his flight towards the Archangel.

"Ugh... fine..." Luna stated lightly and with no strength in her voice, turning her attention towards the Minerva. In the meantime the DOM prepared it's pair of beam Gatling guns and spun them up to high speeds, firing a green rain storm of beam shards at the missiles that the Minerva had launched, taking care of most of them while the vessel's own automated CIWS cleaned up the rest.

"Okay here we go..." Luna locked onto the ship and unfolded her right LC-999HC "Bergen Schutzschalter" Hyper-Energy Dual-Purpose Beam Cannon into it's shotgun mode, just as the two vessels exchanged fire with their port side double beam cannons and scored a hit on the others hull. "Meyrin's on the Archangel... and the Minerva's decided to go on it's own path... to stray... I'm not the one to make this decision as much as I am a soldier... the top brass know the best course..." Luna muttered to herself, taking aim at the Minerva and narrowing her eyes to make the precise shot. All the while her target banked to starboard and Luna fired her cannon, sending many small slivers of white and red beams towards the gray vessel, the scattered shot splattering against the underside of her port wing and sizzling hot against the armor. "You're not getting... away that easily!" The magenta haired teen now raised her voice, put her cannon into it's longer sniper rifle configuration and unleashed a potent, precise beam of power, striking the thrusters on the port side of the Minerva's bow.

* * *

"Thruster two has been destroyed, Captain!" Arthur informed, recovering from the tremor that had just taken place.

"Engines to maximum then! Get some distance between us! Now Kendan will have our rear in his sights... and if he gets our main engines, we're as good as dead! Abbey, call some of our mobile suits back! Some of them should be able to break free and return!" Talia ordered, jostling from her spot while Malik pulled up, a pair of wide, green beams running under the vessel's bow. "Dammit! Them again..." Talia growled, knowing what was up.

* * *

"We've just about got her cornered! Maintain fire! Forty to por-" Kendan exclaimed, listing out his next set of orders as another, separate set of green beams cruised over the ship's mid section, catching her completely off guard and annihilating it's port side Gottfried in an instant. "What the..." Kendan growled, watching as fire erupted from the port leg and electricity sparked over the damaged sections.

"Vessel detected at orange seven delta! Alliance Girty Lue-class!" Mary informed quickly.

"Ahh... that one!" The Admiral shook his head with displeasure, looked to his left, and saw the dark blue ship off in the distance. "Alright, belay that! Now I've had enough of that ship's meddling! It goes down, **NOW!** Port seventy! Ian, bring the Archangel into a full barrel roll!"

"We're turning at them?" Erin questioned.

"Yes! Helmsman, I want to be close enough to flip the bird at whoever's in charge of that thing, clear?" Kendan snapped, looking below to the area below. "Be prepared for my signal!"

"Incoming missiles from port!" Mary added.

"Launch Helldarts! In ten seconds fire off all Sledgehammers from the starboard launchers and five seconds later launch the port ones!" Kendan continued, spitting out several commands one after the other.

While Girty Lue's missiles soared through space and made course for the Archangel the white and red ship countered, it's CIWS spinning like rabid chainsaws, while it's defensive Helldarts all launched in sequence to intercept. As the weapons collided a large wall of explosive smoke blinded the area between the Archangel and Girty Lue, and as that cloud began to dissipate, the Archangel followed up with a round of Sledgehammer missiles. Now, Girty Lue was forced to defend with it's CIWS, indirectly maintaining that barrier of smoke, which lived on while the Archangel launched _even _more missiles at the Alliance vessel. Eventually, after a few critical seconds the wall was completely gone, but now the Archangel was just about to fly over the Girty Lue, flipped over with guns at the ready

* * *

"What the?" Ian Lee's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he witnessed this, unable to give out any orders as he was practically frozen in place.

* * *

"ERIN!" Kendan screamed.

"Valiants, consecutive fire!" The Executive Officer leaned forward and called out, both of the ship's linear cannons simultaneously firing their rounds directly onto the Girty Lue at nearly point blank range, destroying the two Gottfrieds mounted on top of it's mobile suit deck, dealing more damage to the hull, and disabling all thirty eight of it's vertical missile launchers in a matter of short moments, forcing the darker, smaller ship downwards, like it had been dropped to the ground from a ten foot fall.

* * *

"Gottfrieds One and Two have been hit! All launchers are offline now, sir! Captain... I don't think..."

"Hang on!" Lee blurted, catching his hat and placing it back snugly on his scalp. "We're not down yet! We still have some strength left! Put some distance between us and that ship, then swing around one hundred and eighty degrees! We'll strike from behind!" He commanded, relaxing back into his chair as he did. 'This may be it... but considering how many machines we've lost, if we retreat back to the Moon empty handed and with this much damage... I shutter to think of what'll be our fate...' He shrugged his shoulders in disgust.

* * *

"That'll teach 'em..." Kendan muttered to himself with an egotistical look. He took a breath and then listed out his next orders. "Locate the Minerva, and quickly! I don't want Gladys pulling any trick moves on us, is that clear?"

* * *

Gounod Relay Station:

Several Zaft vessels quickly approached the large, traveling O'Neill Colony section. The catapult of one of the formation's Nazca-class destroyers activated, it's arms unfolding and becoming straight, while it's circular door opened wide. A normal sized gundam whose regular armor was the usual palate of phase shift grey, but who's assault shroud was a dusty blue, stepped onto the catapult launcher, bending it's knees forward and preparing to take off.

"Yzak Joule, Duel, launching!" The Zaft white shirt announced, his treads vaulting the Duel forward as it left the vessel. The mobile suit's phase shift quickly blurred to a bright blue and medium gray color scheme as another of it's kind took the stage on the catapult.

"Commander." A male Zaft black suit appeared on one of Yzak's screens.

"Has the enemy fleet launched it's mobile suits yet?" The silver haired male questioned.

"Yes sir, we're detecting Windams, Murasames, Astrays, and even some mobile armor models."

"Understood. The Rousseau is to remain in the middle of our fleet as we push forward. Have squads two and five take up their left flank. The Duel and Buster will lead squads one and three directly into their front lines, is that clear?"

"Sir!" The black suit saluted, cutting the line thereafter. Silently, Yzak continued, but felt another machine grab onto his right shoulder. Turning, he noticed the military color schemed Buster gundam, and Dearka called in.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that the ORB Space Fleet would be taking part in this?" Dearka questioned.

"Eh, that does have me confused, considering how Princess Cagalli practically gave the Earth Alliance the middle finger after Operation Justice..." Yzak commented while the Duel and Buster, followed by several more Zaft suits, including mainly ZAKUs, GOUFs, and a miniscule handful of DOM Troopers, continued. One second later though, the opposing fleet of ORB and EA vessels opened fire with their main battleship guns. "Doesn't matter though. I think we can conclude that these guys aren't out here to have a tea party. Let's go!" Yzak commanded.

"Agreed." Dearka stated, both Ace pilots breaking away from each other, swiftly evading capital ship beam fire.

"Alright, follow my lead! That's an order!" Yzak yelled, grabbing his beam rifle, raising it up and firing it all in a short time span, striking one unlucky Astray in the cockpit.

* * *

Mendel Debris Field:

A mutual feeling of distaste sparked between Shinn and Heine as the two clashed. The Assassin was carrying both of it's beam swords in hand and the Judicator was gripping a pair of it's beam sabers for duel wielding purposes. As blade met blade the two clashed. Shinn was stress though, for alongside the Assassin he was engaging in direct combat, Stella was battling it out with Athrun, while Rey supported his teammates with suppressive fire, blocking Shinn and Stella whenever they thought they had the upper hand.

"I'll get you!" Shinn threatend with a downward swing at the Assassin, while Heine moved back.

"Not so tough without your 'fearless leader' and that other guy, are you?" Heine questioned, being sarcastic when he mentioned Cagalli's name.

"Eh, you'll be saying your prayers soon enough!" Shinn counted, deflecting one of Heine's metallic whips away with his right beam shield. "What the?" His ruby eyes shifted for a second, looking to his console. 'Minerva is under attack! Return to ship...?' He read the words in his head, being temporarily distracted for a second, giving Heine an opportunity.

"Think fast!" The FAITH pilot came at him and sliced downwards with his left-handed blade.

"No... WAY!" Shinn yelled back, his attention snapping back towards the front his cockpit. He rotated the way the Judicator held it's right beam saber around and then pulled the arm over his torso like how he would defend with a physical shield. Narrowly, he blocked Heine's attack. "Damn you... YOU'RE IN THE WAY!" His eyes widened with extreme rage, and he punched the Assassin's bare chest with his left fist, knocking Heine back. The Judicator turned around and powered up it's thrusters, red wings of light and then shot forward like a bullet. "I'll go back and help the..." Several beams formed an all familiar net around him, coming from Rey's DRAGOONs.

"No... no you won't!" Heine laughed, although his voice felt very stern at the same time. He stuck forth his right arm and launched the HA-M231D "Wurfmesser" Hyper-velocity Retractable Beam Dagger on it at Shinn, and although the Judicator did try and move, the blade nipped through it's small, middle wing on the left side. "You won't be going anywhere!" The Assassin reeled in it's dagger again.

"Yes I will! Once, I'm done with you, asshole!" Shinn barked, turning around and locking blades with the stealth mobile suit again.

"Aww... have you been on ORB's side for so long that you forgot my name? Call me Heine!"

"Don't play dumb!" Shinn ground his left handed beam saber against Heine's right, while both blades pointed downwards at an angle. 'Calm...' He thought, pulling away to avoid more unfriendly DRAGOON fire.

* * *

With Lieutenant Baba, Takito, and Kalur:

The Achilles DOM Trooper deployed it's five remaining L-DRAGOONs and sent them after the ORB Murasame variants. Meanwhile the pilot himself shot away with his beam rifle, targeting the Takito's Ootsukigata, while his pods tracked Kalur the Lieutenant.

"Ahh... just a bit!" Baba whispered to himself, flying in a circle as the large L-DRAGOON and one small one tailed him. Linear gun shots narrowly passed by the underside of his suit while he flew in a loop, eventually going completely vertical and switching into mobile suit mode. "More!" He moved to the right and evaded the large pod which was oncoming towards his suit, aimed both of his beam rifles down and shot them both at different angles. While the small L-DRAGOON evaded the shot that was meant to strike it's current position, the other shot succeeded in taking it out.

"Damn you guys, where's my backup!" The DOM's pilot grumbled, shooting twice at the Ootsukigata before it curved a path at him and came out of it's flight form with it's one beam saber in hand.

"Block this!" Takito roared, his saber drawn and at his right side, prepared to slice through the DOM.

"You'll regret that!" The G14X3IZ "Screaming Nimbus" Scattering Beam Gun on the DOM's chest ignited while the Ootsukigata closed in. Takito's brown eyes grew exponentially and his jaw dropped wide open.

"What kind of a weapon is that?" He questioned, trying to slow down and avoid suffering a hit.

"Your second worst nightmare!" The DOM pilot grinned with the prowess of a killer, and followed the retreating Ootsukigata, intent on ramming it.

"Second?" Takito raised an eyebrow.

"This is the first!" All remaining L-DRAGOONs switched their targets and came aimed for the blue and white ORB machine.

"Ah, shit!" Takito grit his teeth, rolling out of the way to avoid a hit, and suffering a strike to his shoulder mounted beam cannon in the process, the weapon's barrel flying off and over his suit, crashing into the DOM's pink barrier on partially melting on contact.

"Takito!" Baba snapped to focus, noticing that while the DOM was chasing his subordinates Ootsukigata, it's large weapon pod was rushing up from below in so it could impale him. "Damn." The Lieutenant powered up the beam fangs on both arms. "This might be too late..."

"No it isn't! I've got you!" Kalur announced, roaring over top of an asteroid and transforming to mobile suit mode, taking aim with his one remaining beam rifle, carefully holding it's barrel with his left hand, staring into his scopes and impatiently waiting for his shot to line up until... "NOW!" A green line of beam energy shot forth, tore through the area and struck the L-DRAGOON directly in it's mid section, destroying the pod.

"For crying out..." The DOM's pilot spat, still backing Takito into a corner. "I'LL TAKE YOU OUT REGARD-" A pair of curved, bright pink beams entered the DOM's cockpit and punched through the pilot's body, coming out the other side of the suit and swiping horizontally across it's body. The mono-eye of the machine and it's scattering beam gun faded as the power supplies cut off and were shut down.

"You'll be taking out nobody. Not now, not ever..." Lieutenant Baba snarled, kicking the DOM away from his machine's body. "That's a wrap there, you guy's alright?" He questioned.

"Yeah... that was a close one." Takito breathed deeply, exhaling and inhaling, watching as the other Byakko came in closer. "I owe you one, Kalur... how about a drink when we get back?"

"Well, I think that makes up for the battle outside of the debris belt. We're even now." Kalur joked.

"Alright, enough chatter. Our vessel's in trouble and I've already told Yoshura to go help... but where is that damned Ensign? Is he still caught up with their gundams?" Baba flew over one asteroid and looked off into the distance, spotting several beams racing off in the distance. "Ensigns Asuka and Loussier, are you guy's able to come close to us?" Baba called out on the radio, while off in the distance...

"We're doing just that! One minute!" Shinn howled, closing in on Stella's Demoness while several more DRAGOON beams, the Assassin, and the Crusader followed close behind.

"Grab on... I'll shield us!" Stella commanded, moving her suit closer to Shinn's, torso to torso.

"Shield us?" Shinn questioned, reaching around the Demoness's body and wrapping his hands around.

"Yeah..." Stella commented sarcastically, staring at the Judicator's open set of wings. "Close those! Now! And turn on your shields!"

"Err..." Shinn rolled his eyes with uncertainty and folded the Judicator's wings down, while several of Rey's DRAGOONs flew ahead to block their path. However, the Demoness made the next move before that, and bent its wings inward, partially surrounding both units. At the same time the ORB pilots switched on their beam shields and covered each others backs while Rey fired, his shots being deflected by the barriers which allowed Shinn and Stella to pass.

"Alright! Enough of that! We can help the Captain now!" Stella cheered as the Judicator let go of her.

"Back to the ship now!" Baba called out with urgency. While all the transformable mobile suits switched into their mobile armor forms, Shinn noticed something off in the distance.

"BEHIND YOU!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to get the attention of Kalur as the Archangel's Patriot DOM Trooper appeared from both behind an asteroid and behind the soldier's Byakko, it's large duel purpose weapon at the ready.

"Think fast!" The DOM pilot yelled, sending a green beam forward from his smaller barrel at high speeds, directly for Kalur's location.

"What? NO!" Kalur screeched out loud. In a quick attempt to block he turned around and began to raise his shield, but it wasn't enough. Verdant beam stuck black metal an in a small instance of time his suit was obliterated and his life ended, just like that.

"Kalur!" Baba turned around and yelled, watching his comrade perish. "Kalur..." He moaned, but being an experienced pilot, he knew that nothing good would come if he cried and mourned on the spot. Still, the Judicator was standing still, and the Zaft gundams were coming up from behind it. "Shinn! NOW!"

"Raaaaa..." Shinn looked behind his machine to see the three Zaft gundams armed and ready to shoot at him, and then he looked towards the remains of Kalur's Byakko, and finally to the bottom of his screen, where the message telling him to return to ship remained. This was all nonsense. They were supposed to get come here, get something done in secret, and then leave. Instead, a full scale battle erupted, one whose opening move would have sunk their ship and killed them all if not for the appearance of a third enemy force. They were entangled in a deep fight now, and now several of the Minerva's pilot died. Shinn, needless to say, was pissed. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS BULLSHIT!" He yelled out with a monstrous fury, a red SEED dropping in his eyes and then exploding a few seconds later. The Judicator's console displayed it's usual transformation message, it's eyes turned blood red, it's v-fin split, it's inner wings began to move up and down and finally all four of its secondary arms came to life. With a raise of it's arm the Assassin launched one of it's beam daggers at the stationary Judicator. "I'll be taking that from you, _Heine!_" Shinn smirked with anger, straffing to his right and avoiding the small pink dagger. Afterimages followed his machine while he stuck forth his upper right hand out and took hold of the dagger right out of the air, destroyed the wire connecting it with some CIWS rounds and then focused on the DOM that had killed Kalur. "You're next!"

"What the? How dare he!" Heine retracted his empty wire, his face the literal definition of 'offended' and 'embarrassed'.

"Shinn!" Athrun, who was still in SEED mode, called out, firing his beam rifle and beam cannons at the Judicator.

"That belongs to me now, too!" Shinn swerved to avoid Athrun's shot, while at the same time closing in on the Patriot DOM, which was panicking to get a shot off at him, but finding no such luck. "You're going to have to do better then that! Now you're out of time!" In the time frame of a split second Shinn had sideswiped the Patriot DOM Trooper, literally disarmed it, blinded it's mono-eye with Heine's stolen dagger, took hold of it's duel purpose launcher, and stuck one of his beam sabers into it's cockpit from the side. "Defend the Minerva! I'll bring the pain to them!" He announced over the radio, leading away from his comrades while some of the Zaft gundams, including the Crusader, followed him.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

The ship was cruising through a part of the debris cluster that was a little more open, but yet the Archangel herself was flying in a somewhat tight manner against the rocks to her starboard side.

"I can't believe it!" Kendan smacked his right palm against it's respective armrest, twice. "We had the Minerva right then and there! Only to have the Alliance vessel interfere!"

"Weapons are at the ready for when we detect them, Admiral." Executive Officer Dubu spoke from the lower level.

"Yes I know that! Have Lunamaria and Steven found them yet?" Kendan inquired.

"Umm..." Meyrin typed away at her controls. "Yes sir, they should be a little ways away! Behind that asteroid cluster my instruments are reading this correctly!"

"Does she know where we are?"

"Couldn't tell you that... sorry, sir. However, several of our mobile suits and theirs are closing in on that location..." Meyrin whimpered.

"The debris field... easily one of the worst places for an honest battle." Kendan huffed. "Accelerate by-"

"MOBILE SUIT DETECTED! Above the starboard bow! Distance: one thousand!" Mary wailed.

"THAT CLOSE? HOW?" Kendan questioned with bug eyes, looking towards the area above the ship.

* * *

"NOW TAKE THIS!" Shinn hollered, coming around a rock with a tight, decisive and vengeful look in his SEED mode eyes. Holding the Patriot DOM's stolen bazooka in his right hand, he extended that arm outwards to full extension and targeted the Archangel below and in front of him, pulling the trigger twice and sending two high explosive rounds zooming towards the ship at extreme speeds.

"INTERCEPT! NOW OR WE'RE ALL DEAD!" Kendan literally stood up out of his chair and screamed across the entire bridge in the loudest, most demanding voice he could muster. Several of the Archangel's Igelstellungs directed their barrels upwards and fired away, unleashing a defensive barrier of bullets, killing off both of the rockets.

"Huh? Smart move!" Shinn snarled, able to ignore the bullets coming at him due to his armor, and pulled the trigger again, only this time firing two or three beam rifle shots at the Archangel in well-placed locations, disabling two of the CIWS units mounted on the upper deck. "BUT NOT SMART ENOUGH!" Three more bazooka rounds left the gun and blitzed towards the Archangel, headed for the bridge.

"TOOOOO... PORRRRRTTT!" Kendan literally kicked his body off of his chair using his short legs, catapulted himself towards Ian Fran's location. "Give me that! I'll do it myself!" He tore the steering guide out of his crewman's hands and forced it counter-clockwise as hard as he could. The entire vessel lurched violently as it banked left in a maddening turn, but at least the rockets didn't strike the bridge. Instead, they struck one of the Igelstellungs mounted on the upper back deck, the side of the starboard fin, and the yellow, spherical sensor mounted there too. Moderately sized spurts of smoke flew upwards from the ship's hull as several fires broke out inside it. Some of the crew members were even unlucky enough to get caught in explosions taking place on the outer hull.

"Out of ammo!" Shinn growled, pulling the bazooka trigger only to find the clip empty. Suddenly though, his sensors rung in his ears again, and he turned around. "You!" He raised the bazooka upwards, only to have it get cut along the barrel by a beam... belonging to Athrun Zala's Crusader gundam. Seeing this, Shinn flew backwards to by himself some time, and dodged a side swipe from Athrun's beam naginata, thew aside the useless weapon and brandished all four of his beam sabers in their respective secondary arms.

"The Archangel... it's still safe..." Athrun breathed a heavy sigh of relief, glancing at his mothership for a second before rushing into the Judicator's face. "Shinn, it's so unfortunate that you're so arrogant! You're proving yourself to be one hell of a pilot, but you're on the wrong side to get things done!" He took a swing with his beam naginata, meeting the beam saber in the Judicator's upper left arm. "It would be a miracle if either Kira or you actually managed to figure out what's for the better and who to stand behind on your own, instead of needing to have it drilled into your head." Sparks flew between the two pilots as they brawled once more.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"Athrun's handling that machine?" Kendan questioned, his breathing rate that of an anxious man who had just faced and escaped quick death, and was worried that it might come around again.

"Yes, for now at least!" Meyrin answered, her voice almost as worried as the Admiral's, although somewhat cheery.

"Good... now get me that damage report, stat! Make sure all fires are taken care of before they get out of hand!" Kendan issued, adjusting his purple Zaft service cap back onto his head, getting back into his chair and calming slightly.

"Admiral..." Mary began.

"Oh what now, women?" He snapped angrily.

"Ugh..." Mary hesitated a bit from the insult. "Girty Lue-class vessel approaching from stern! Distance: five thousand and closing!"

"What? Evade and return fire with the Valiants!" Kendan ordered, and outside the vessel it did indeed fire at the Girty Lue, but the Alliance ship evaded the shots. "I thought they learned their lesson, but apparently not!"

"Something else, too!" Meyrin added, her voice becoming increasingly unstable.

"Ah?" Kendan spat.

"Luna says the Minerva's coming for us! And that!"

"From where?" Kendan questioned and cut her off, looking at the youngest member of his bridge crew.

"Captain! Th... the... there!" Ian Fran stammered. He pointed out the window and towards the bow, a red and gray object quickly appeared from behind an asteroid, with a spark of light emitting from it's bow.

"... and that she's preparing to fire her Tannhauser!" Meyrin cowered in fear, ducking her head to her console as the light from the Minerva's bow grew stronger.

"IAN! I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THAT WHEEL FROM YOU AGAIN!" Kendan yelled, his eyes bursting open as a stream of anti-matter particles burst forth from the Minerva's bow gun, racing towards the Archangel at high speeds.

"Captain... I KNOW!" The helmsman yanked his controls to the right and put the ship into a massive starboard swing that was just as forceful and violent as the one Kendan performed earlier. As the Tannhauser ray flew past the Archangel's bridge, it narrowly missed, but to the people inside, the light was absolutely blinding. However, the ship did not survive unscathed though, for the beam of positrons did impact the large port side wing, proceeded to annihilate the electrons that partially made up that section, and outright destroy it with several explosions. The Archangel crew was left shaking but it could have been much worse...

* * *

Girty Lue bridge:

"EVADE...!" One of the crewmen yelled with as much volume as he could muster, the beam of anti-matter coming for their ship. At the same time, Captain Lee sat in the back of his chair, and said nothing but a whisper.

"Too... late..." He silently muttered and the Tannhauser beam swiftly impacted the port side catapult doors of his ship, tearing through them and filling the hull up with it's power, breaking apart the entire ship from the inside out. A large wave of explosions burst from the bow and eventually reached the bridge, only to shatter it's forward glass, suck out all of it's air and crew, and eventually _melt _the vessel away.

* * *

Archangel bridge:

"We're alive? We're ALIVE!" Meyrin cheered like a cancer patient who just found out their had been cured.

"You can have time for a celebration later! We're still at work! Call back all of our mobile suits! Lower bow ninety and increase engine output to maximum! The Archangel is leaving this location, now! We'll plot a course for Armory One and make repairs there, is that clear?" Kendan requested.

"Yes sir!" Erin responded.

"All mobile suits, tactical retreat!" Meyrin spoke into her microphone.

* * *

Minerva bridge:

"The Archangel has changed course! She appears to be trying to leave the area!" Bart explained, and a wave of relieving sighs overtook the bridge.

"Let's not rest yet!" Talia snapped her fingers. "Are the Zaft mobile suits retreating now?" She questioned.

"From the looks of it, yes. Lieutenant Baba reports that the hostile machines are turning away." Abbey explained.

"Understood. Have all of our guys fall back to the ship, but don't let any of them in yet. We'll set a course for point seven five." Talia stated.

"The emergency rendezvous point?" Arthur inquired.

"Yes." Talia nodded, looking around the screens that displayed the outside area, while several of the Minerva's suits closed in. "Where's Shinn?"

"He's..."

* * *

The Crusader and Judicator circled each other, battling in a pattern similar to the double helix of a deoxyribonucleic acid molecule, striking their weapons together as soon as they met.

"Oh, that's rich! So now that you've decided it's no longer time to run away on a whim whenever things aren't going according to your agenda, you try and convince others through forceful words to come onto your side!" Shinn said, swinging his lower right secondary arm out to meet Athrun's left leg beam.

"It's better than being the traitor you labeled me before, or the liar AND traitor that you are now!" Athrun countered, breaking away from Shinn and staring him down.

"I can never take pride in some of the things I told you while we were both part of Zaft, nor about how I came to join ORB. That's in the past though, for now I have made up my mind, as have you." Shinn spun an energy orb out of his main right hand at Athrun. "At least I have the _mental capacity _to understand and accept that other people have ideologies different than me, and that as far as they are concerned, those ideas are valid!" He also reached for his remaining Executioner with his left hand.

"That just means you're a naïve relativist!" Athrun took hold of one of the boomerangs on his shield and whipped it at the Judicator. Then, he knocked the energy orb away with his beam shield. Coming in from a distance though was the Legacy, on course for both of them.

"Really?" Shinn quipped with an insulting chuckle. He backed off and tried to avoid the arc of Athrun's beam boomerang in its entirety, but overestimated the throw. Instead, the beam of metal stuck and destroyed his upper left arm before flying off elsewhere. "What the hell is that supposed to me?" Angered, he gripped the anti-ship sword with both hands and flew at Athrun, going up and down like a thin sine wave, several afterimages flowing from the Judicator in the process.

"It mean..." Athrun made an effort to block the charge by Shinn, and raised his shield. However, a second before the Judicator made contact, something clicked in his mind, about that weapon. 'Dammit!' He strafed to the side slightly, not enough to outright avoid Shinn's move, but enough so that when the Executioner's tip contacted his shield, it ignored the beam and went through the upper side of it, but nevertheless did no damage to the Crusader's main body. "Means that you have the delusion in your head..." Athrun tried to call out, but nevertheless, failed, and was unable to shake the way his shield had taken damage off of his mind.

"Athrun!" A third, male voice called out to the Red Knight, interrupting him.

"Rey!" Both pilots shouted, looking towards the Legacy off in the distance as it approached.

'Be ready...' Shinn thought to himself, preparing to activated his shields at a moments notice.

"Athrun, we have orders to return to the ship! And we've received contact from the higher ups! Our job is complete! Now, come back!" The blonde ordered.

"Job?" Shinn questioned, raising one left eyebrow.

"But...!" Athrun called out and then he felt some sweat slowly roll down his forehead and into his right eye, tingling as it did. Nevertheless, he held that eye open just in case, but the point was made. He was getting a bit tired now, but then again, they all were. "Fine... if that's the case..." Athrun glanced towards Shinn. "Till we meet again." The light gray gundam and red gundam traveled away from him.

"WAIT!" Shinn yelled out at Rey aggressively.

"You'll have your chance to fall again, Shinn!" The blonde answered.

"No!" Shinn swung his anti-ship sword down and launched a precisely targeted energy orb towards the Legacy. "When you hinted at how you found us, and then Stella intervened, what were you about to say? **TELL ME, REY ZA BURREL! RIGHT! NOW!**"

"Hmmph..." The blonde halted in mid air, blocked the orb with his right shield, and then spoke in a condescending, belittling voice. "It has something to do with your arrogant sense of security and your blind devotions! That's all!" He turned back around and left with Athrun.

"Arrogant sense and blind... what? WHAT?" Shinn screamed out, yet was ignored. He huffed to himself in anger, until the voice of someone special spoke through his speakers.  
"Shinn!" Stella called out to the Judicator's pilot, pulling up to him in the Demoness. "Shinn... are you alright?" She questioned, clearly concerned for his being. "Your suit's damaged!" She stuck out her right arm and pointed at the destroyed secondary arm on his left shoulder. Several spark sputtered out of the open, injured, beam burnt section of black phase shift armor.

"Stella..." He spoke calmly, closing his eyes for a few moments and then opening, his eyes having had returned to their normal, non-SEED state. "It's alright... you'll be able to fix it though... can you?" He questioned with a smile, lightened by her presence.

"Yeah! I can fix that no problem, but is anything..." She looked the Judicator up and down and tried to spot any serious damage, being extremely careful. "I don't see..."

"No, Stella, I'm fine, for now!" Shinn stored all of his weapons away besides his anti-ship sword, which he took with his upper right arm, and then grabbed onto her shoulders with his main hands.

"Hey!"

"I said it's alright! I'll make it back to the ship in the one piece!"

"Well then let's go back and fine out!" She suggested, although in a playful fashion.

"Let's..." He smiled, heading back to the Minerva with her.

* * *

Bridge of the Zaft vessel FFMH-Y101 Eternal:

Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal stood looking out of port side window that was fitted onto the bridge. Outside the Eternal were several following Nazca-class vessels, and one of them had pulled up close to the pink ship. With a smug and proud grin of accomplishment on has lips, he watched as a couple of soldiers, equipped with black space suits, ferried two space stretchers from the adjacent Nazca towards the Eternal.

"Sir..." The Captain of the vessel walked up to Durandal and held out a data pad. "This just came in. I think you should read it."

"Ah... let's see then." Durandal replied, turning and taking hold of the pad. He silently read through it's contents, only to form a perplexed look. "Suspicious activity in Sector Twelve?"

"Yes, sir. Because it's outside the defensive warning area, it took us a while to respond. It's a slow moving O'Neill type colony."

"Heading for the PLANTs?" Durandal carefully looked the man in the eyes.

"Yes, sir, although it's still a significant distance away. The Joule, Chanis, Poal, and Paluy Teams were investigating when they encountered it's escort fleet... and are engaging said fleet right this moment."

"Huh." Durandal let the pad go and float on it's own so he could cross his arms. "Give top priority to them for the time being."

"There's one more thing. Reports state that ORB's Space Forces are escorting it, alongside the Earth Forces."

"Is that so? Well then... there may be some exchanges happening in the shadows right now then." Durandal smiled. "So be it then, if they want to fight alongside them, then I can do nothing... yet..." He tilted his head to the side, closed his eyes, and thought for a second. While he was doing that, the bridge elevator door opened, although he didn't know who was responsible. "I think we should postpone our broadcast until we can learn more about this traveling colony."

"Even though we've got a very stable up link with Messiah right now? We'll be able to transmit it around the entire world, even from the Eternal. There's no interference in this region." The Captain stated.

"Ah, true, but something like this can wait a couple days or so. Humanity has waited generations for..."

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation!" The voice of a very _certain _girl spoke as she drifted weightlessly towards the middle of the room.

"Miss Lacus?" Durandal cocked an eyebrow towards the young girl as she landed near the top seat.

"Haro wished to go for a walk, so once I left my room... I came here. Knew you would be on the bridge, Mr. Chairman." She giggled.

"Yes... umm..." Durandal attempted.

"Humanity has waited long enough. As far as we know, Lord Djibril is dead, and we've sufficient evidence to back that up that claim. Those Alliance ships carrying him we're genuine in their nature." Lacus explained.

"Yes, however, were encountering some difficulty out in space. The Alliance is transporting a colony somewhere, and that has me concerned." Durandal stated.

"Mr. Chairman, the soldiers carrying those O'Neill colonies are probably just ignorant of events. In fact, I'd say that claim constitute the truth, to be honest!" She dismissed the issue, and smiled while she did.

"Oh, are you saying that they just haven't received a status update?" Durandal questioned, letting out a very light and subtle laugh.

"That is the only possible reality, Mr. Chairman. So, when are we going to be going on air?" She requested.

"Actually..." Any sense of smile on Durandal's face disappeared, and instead he put on the expression of a skeptic. "... I think it'll be wise to wait until we arrive at..."

"No, no, no!" Lacus shook her head in fundamental disagreement. The young, pink haired girl then walked over to Durandal, pulled out a piece of paper from her purse, and handed it to him. "I've looked it over, and it's a fine peace of work you have, Chairman. I've just changed a few things given what we know. Djibril is gone, therefore the time is now. If we wait then people will forget the reason why we're doing this anyway. Even in times of peace they forget the promises they've made in the past, and that is how war is brewed. Because... of ignorance and forgetfulness." Lacus explained directly to the black haired man. At the same time several of the soldiers aboard the bridge began to shift their attention towards Lacus herself, and whisper of her words.

"So let's not... give them a chance to forget, is that what you're saying, Miss Lacus?" Durandal tilted his head a bit, trying to express a hint of seriousness.

"All our lives are a struggle from the moment we are born. We struggle for the future, the hopes and dreams it may possess. If we deny ourselves this rich opportunity to seek out our dream and MAKE IT reality, even for a second, then we will only be allowing people like Djibril, who are still living now, the chance to come back at us. If that happens, we will never, ever be able to make our dream come true. That is why we must stand up and take a stance, NOW! To leave the world of genocide, death, and of _objective evil _behind us. Mr. Chairman, you agreed with me when I told you that the only way to achieve anything of real value in this world is to decide on what to do, and then just do it, right? Hesitation will only ensure that all is lost, Chairman Durandal." Lacus narrowed her pink eyes towards his golden ones. Despite this, Durandal remained silent, and nonconforming, until _it _happened.

"That's the daughter of Siegel Clyne we know and love!"

"Wise words, Songstress! Just think what would have happened in the Supreme Council waited to deploy the neutron jammers in the beginning of the First War!"

"Indeed!"

"So... when exactly is the Chairman going to announce his broadcast?" The entire bridge seemed to get up out of their stations and clap for the young women, admiring one of their nations national heroes.

"Mr. Chairman..." Lacus looked at Durandal, who was silent, had his head down, and his eyes closed. "When do we begin?" She requested, and with a puff, he stood up straight, his chest rose slightly, and finally he spoke.

"Make sure the teams combating that colony ensure it's destruction." He ordered in a stern and serious voice, addressing the Captain. "I'll make the necessary preparations. It shouldn't be too long, Miss Lacus." He floated over to the elevator door and entered the lift.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." Lacus smiled, looking at the man as the door shut. When the lift started to move though, Durandal's smile morphed into a frown.

'I don't believe this... I should have never let her on board, no matter what...' He thought to himself. "At least now though... I have what I need." He spoke to himself. Meanwhile, in the sealed sick bay of the Eternal, Kira and Cagalli sat on stretchers, still sedated and unaware of their surroundings.

* * *

Back at the Gounod Relay Point:

The Buster combined it's two large weapons together into their anti-armor shotgun configuration and fired away, taking out two Doppelhorn Dagger Ls with a single shot, their defeated remains scattering away into space. "You know, I wonder what this thing is actually for anyway... and why out here?" Dearka questioned.

"One thing's for sure: These guys are giving us a tougher time then usual." Yzak smirked, flying past and dispatching a Windam and Murasame with his beam rifle, spinning in a circle between the two.

"Huh, perhaps it's an offering of peace!" Dearka chuckled with deep sarcasm, unleashing the missiles from his shoulder-mounted launchers. "Since Junius Seven was destroyed, maybe they think they need a new colony to sign a treaty on!" The missiles struck the shield of an Euclid mobile armor, distracting it.

"Oh, very funny!" Yzak rolled his eyes, trying to get behind said mobile armor with Dearka distracted it. "They have plenty of freshly destroyed colonies to do that on, all thanks to their nonsense!" He yelled with the fury of all those who had died in the first full out attack on the PLANTs. The Duel shot two rounds out of it's rail gun directly at the underside of the Euclid, striking it's soft underbelly and taking it out. "Besides, the last thing we need is for some bastards to have another peace memorial to dump on the Earth because they're butthurt and then start _ANOTHER _war because of it! No, this thing is going down, period!"

* * *

Minerva:

As one of the ship's elevators rose upwards and ascended through it's shaft, Shinn waited patiently inside, silent as ever. When the door opened the red eyed pilot kicked himself off of the back wall and into the bridge of the ship, where several other figures, including Stella and Erica Simmons waited among the bridge crew.

"You called me?" Shinn questioned, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the back of the room, next to Stella.

"Yes." The Extended answered, giving him a nice smile, which he returned.

"So we're safe here, for the time being? And if Kira and Cagalli..." Shinn began.

"When they make it out of there, they'll know where to find us, Shinn. For now though... there's something I want you to see." Talia explained.

"What's that?"

"Chairman Durandal is about to make a broadcast to everyone." Talia replied, nodding in the direction of the screen in the upper right hand corner of the bridge.

"Durandal..." Shinn mentioned silently, waiting, until the screen turned bright, revealing both the Chairman and Lacus Clyne, sitting in the Captain's Cabin of the Eternal, together.

"What's she doing there?" Arthur questioned.

"Shhh!" Talia hushed.

"Hello my friends, it is I, Lacus Clyne, speaking from the Eternal!" The Songstress opened up, clasping her hands together and displaying a look of genuine care; an expression of concern for the welfare of others. "War... it is a tragic thing, and by it's definition, wrong. It has lived with us since humanity's infancy, and it has caused us nothing but pain and sorrow."

* * *

Daedalus Lunar Base:

Despite Lacus' speech, this base was still a hive of activity. Many orders were issued out with high frequency.

"Requiem generators operating at ninety-five percent."

"Power flow stable. Ultra-mirror reflector deviation at critical."

"Activating reserve cooling system; GR System bypass."

Smoke flowed out of the end of a cigar, held in the hands of an unknown man wearing a primarily yellow uniform.

"Hmm..." These cigars, the ones that Yuna Roma brought with him... he said his father and that bratty Princess' late, false daddy Uzumi once smoked these. I must admit, those men had good tastes." The man smiled deviously. "Let's tune into Durandal's righteous talking session!" He laughed, a massive screen in front of him activating and displaying the two on the Eternal. "Oh, it's her? That idiotic pop star... he's spilling the beans with her? What a damned joke!" He chuckled.

"We seem to have no way of breaking this chain. Someone is attacked, and they respond, which prompts another attack. Everyone wants to have a happy life... to be happy, and we fight, because we think that is the only way to achieve that." Lacus continued to speak aloud, while several men below the man in yellow with a cigar talked amongst themselves.

"Gounod has reached destination point!"

"Fauré: turning! Attitude: stable. Fields: active!"

"Requiem generators operation! Three hundred seconds to criticality!"

"Enough!" The man spoke out, smoking the cigar again. "I'm trying to listen to this nonsense!"

"May we remind everyone that it was not so long ago that we experienced a major war." Lacus spoke out, turning and looking at Durandal, giving him a visual que.

"Well, let's see what the real power of Zaft has to say now, shall we?" The man in yellow questioned.

"Thank you, Miss Lacus." Durandal stated, clearly uncomfortable though. "When that war ended, we made a solemn vow: We would never repeat those mistakes again. Yet Junius Seven fell, and despite our best efforts we found ourselves embroiled in another war, which escalated uncontrollably. And as a result, once again, we had to grapple with the pain of sorrow and great suffering. So how in the world could this happen? How could these foolish tragedies arise once again? One reason, as I've previously pointed out, was without a doubt the existence of Logos. They created enemies, promoted fear that forced the two sides to battle and then collected the resulting profits. Throughout history they're the people who have thrived in the shadows... the merchants of death itself. However, we have finally succeeded in destroying them."

"That's what you think." The man snickered.

"Meow..." A cat called out in the distance.

"That is precisely why the time is right for the next big step. Now is the time for us to confront another enemy, the greatest of them all. This is an enemy that we must achieve victory against as well, if we are to know true liberation. I believe this is something we should all understand. Our greatest enemy is the reason why time has been with us since the dawn of time, and why it will never disappear, unless we recognize it, and make the necessary moves to end it. This enemy, who we have never overcome, is nothing more then our own ignorance and selfish ambitions." Durandal explained.

Now, the man frowned with contempt. "Give me freedom or give me death! That's not a difficult concept!"

"Even now after leaving Earth and reaching the heavens, after learning the secrets of the body we still fail to understand each other, and to understand ourselves, and we face the future with uncertainty because of that. Such anxiety... to be equal? NO! To be RICHER! Our limitless desires forcing us to grasp at more! That's who we are right now! We sow the seeds of conflict!" Durandal continued.

* * *

"Human nature? Maybe?" Stella said lightly.

"Perhaps, but there are methods of denying human nature, and Durandal would not be the first to employ them." Shinn responded.

"He wouldn't be the last, either." Talia added.

"We are the problem! Even nature itself has become accustomed to our dangerous habits! Just look at the way humanity is evolving at this point in time?" Durandal explained, only now, something weird happened. In the corner of the screen, a new window appeared. In it, was something that Erica recognized instantly. It displayed a strand of DNA and had several bits of data along it, with the label 'SEED THEORY' on top, in large, capital letters.

"Wait? Lord Djibril may have stolen that information but I'd really like to know how Gilbert Durandal got his hands on _that?!_" She protested.

"The SEED mode theory?" Talia turned around and looked at Erica, Stella, and Shinn.

"Yes." Erica said, deeply distraught.

"Cagalli said it was top secret information!" Shinn mentioned.

"It is... how it got into his hands..." Erica shook her head in disbelief.

* * *

"It is to make us stronger, so that we may fight. For such a thing to happen, is disgusting, and something to take action against, while we solve the problem!" Durandal went on with his speech.

"Really? That's something I think would prove handy, in conjunction with the Extended's Theory, Chairman!" The man in Daedalus snickered.

"We are now at a point where we can end that... where we will end that. We have acquired the means to overcome this fatal flaw. The answer to everything already lies within each and everyone of us. As a result, people would understand themselves and the future. This is the only way to prevent these tragedies from happening again and again. For the future of humanity I henceforth initiate the Destiny Plan: The final defensive measure that will ensure the fate of humanity!" Durandal finished his broadcast, shocking the entire world with one massive statement of an objective. However, for his words, others would have actions.

"Inputting target: Aprillius One! Disengaging all safety locks! All generators at critical levels!"

"Prepare for first movement! Requiem system: Ready to fire!" At the same time, a large device fitted into the Moon's surface itself, which looked like a short, stumpy metal hill with a crater on top of it, opened up wide, revealing a massive barrel and a large beam cannon inside.

"Raise the trigger!" The base commander of Daedalus ordered, and a small, gun-like trigger device came out of a compartment in the main command consoles. "Milord!" The base commander made a welcoming gesture towards the device.

"With pleasure..." The man stood up, revealing himself to be none other then Lord Djibril himself, all alive and well and in no way, shape or form, gone from this world. He walked towards the console with a certain stride in his step, and grasped hold of the device. He pulled the loading trigger inside it three times and then spoke. "Gilbert Durandal, you have fallen into my trap and therefore have made this all the better for me. Now, I must ask you, dreamer, to FINAL DEFENSIVE MEASURE THIS!" Djibril yelled with rage, and depressed the triggers top button.

_Then the stars wept... they cried and they sang a song of death... a requiem, as a large, bright beam of light very similar to the sun's rays itself, burst from the Moon's surface..._

-To Be Continued-


End file.
